Traction: Get a Grip on Your Business [Hardcover]

Gino Wickman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 8, 2007

Do you have a grip on your business, or does your business have a grip on you? Don't let common problems and frustrations run you and your business. Get a grip and gain control with the Entrepreneurial Operating System. Inside Traction, you'll learn the secrets of strengthening the Six Key Components of your business. You'll discover simple yet powerful ways to run your company that will give you and your leadership team more focus, more growth, and more enjoyment. Based on years of real-world implementation in over 100 companies, the Entrepreneurial Operating System is a practical method for achieving the business success you have always envisioned. Successful organizations are applying it every day to run profitable, frustration-free businesses -- and you can too.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“… these concepts have helped us create a strong, healthy, and skilled leadership team with clarity around the company’s vision and each member’s contribution to that vision.”
—Eric Ersher, Founder & CEO, Zoup! Fresh Soup Company

“Today, a year after implementation, we have supercharged the business.… The growth has been explosive even through the recession.”
—Bob Verdun, President, Computerized Facility Integration, LLC (CFI)

“When we began implementing these concepts … my business owned me—I didn’t own my business.… Now our revenue has gone up by almost 100 percent in two years! The best part is, I am not only happier again but also have more freedom of time.”
—Curt Whipple, Owner, C. Curtis Financial

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

About the Author

An entrepreneur since the age of 21, Gino Wickman has dedicated his life to learning what makes businesses thrive. At 25 he took over the running of the family business, which was deeply in debt and in need of help. After turning the company around and running it for seven years, he and his partners successfully sold the company. Based on his years of real-world experience, Gino developed the Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS), a practical method for helping companies achieve greatness. Over the last six years, he has taught the EOS process to hundreds of business leaders in more than 90 companies. The results speak for themselves: companies that implement EOS grow by an average of 18% per year while eliminating common frustrations and experiencing more enjoyment. Gino is one of the original 10 members of the Detroit chapter of the Entrepreneurs Organization and served twice on its board of directors. His belief: "You cannot build a great organization on multiple operating systems. You must choose one." He is the founder of EOS and offers powerful and practical keynote speeches and workshops for small business leaders across the country.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 248 pages
• Publisher: eos; 1st edition (October 8, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0979799007
• ISBN-13: 978-0979799006
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 8.5 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (32 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #21,212 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

An entrepreneur since the age of 21, Gino Wickman has dedicated his life to learning what makes businesses thrive.

At 25 he took over the running of the family business, which was deeply in debt and in need of help. After turning the company around and running it for seven years, he and his partners successfully sold the company.

Based on his years of real-world experience, Gino developed the Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS), a practical method for helping companies achieve greatness. Over the last nine years, he has taught the EOS process to hundreds of business leaders in more than 100 companies. The results speak for themselves: companies that implement EOS have grown by an average of 18% per year while eliminating common frustrations.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Applying Traction to small consulting business, July 6, 2010

By 

Saad Shah (Michigan) (Michigan, USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Traction: Get a Grip on Your Business (Hardcover)

I read Traction in April 2010 and started applying it to my consulting business. We are an information technology consulting firm, with 10 consultants (including me) working on around 5 projects at any given time. Applying the EOS has brought about a big change in the way I approach my business. Our situation is typical of other consulting firms: 99% of the energy in the firm is spent on serving our clients, so not much attention is paid to "working on the business."

Rather than write a review of the book, I think some readers might benefit from seeing the practical application of the EOS model described in the book:

I did the Organizational Checkup candidly and scored 53%. Here's the status of the other areas:

1. Vision: Complete. Has been reviewed and updated with the input of the team. The V/TO is a very useful tool.

2. People: In progress. The Get It / Want It / Capacity assessment has been completed (with the team). The right person/right seat is a challenge because currently one person is occupying most of the seats. The book has given us the framework for right person/right seat and we are determining how to apply it without asking our team to overcommit themselves.

3. Data: We've created our initial scorecard, and we jointly reviewed it in May and June. The next monthly review is in mid-July, and we will be adding more metrics. More info here on my blog post: [...]

4. Issues: We had an external consultant spend time with us in June to observe our operations and provide us a candid assessment. As a result, we've got a list of issues and recommendations. The implementation of the major items is not yet certain. We have to face the choice between focusing on client work versus working on the business. Some of the issues won't be addressed until I remove myself substantially from client work and act like a CEO.

5. Processes: We were already fairly strong in the processes that affect our clients (project delivery, proposals, estimating, recruiting etc.). Some of our internal processes are being improved as a result of having worked on the scorecard.

6. Traction: We're not there yet (as of early July 2010). We need to make the tough choices (and accompanying investment in the roles) before we can have proper accountability, communication and teamwork for executing our plan and achieving our goals. Our focus remains on doing innovative things for our clients, and I believe that's the right thing to do. It will not be practical to hire a new CEO. So, I will be stepping away from billable roles, and "working on the business instead of in the business."

Overall, I highly recommend this book to any business owner who wants a frank assessment of what's going well and what can be done better. This book is like a mirror. In our case, it is motivational and will help provide a better experience for our team members and clients.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Be SMART enough to know you need help!, October 9, 2007

By 

Denise L. Doege "We get by giving" (Milwaukee, WI) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Traction: Get a Grip on Your Business (Hardcover)

I was lucky enough to be one of seventeen Realtors to attend a workshop Gino Wickman presented several years ago. We were all 'small' business people looking for way to increase our selling potential. In one day Gino presented material that not only rocked our worlds, but gave us a plan to stop 'spinning our wheels' and gain the traction necessary to analyze, evaluate, set and meet our future goals. His ability to have us look inside ourselves to focus on purpose, activity and accountability has proven to be one of the best seminars I've ever attended. Can't find a Gino seminar? Yes you can! It's called TRACTION.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is a must read for business owners!, April 21, 2008

By 

Edward J. Primeau "Producer/Director" (Rochester Hills, Michigan) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Traction: Get a Grip on Your Business (Hardcover)

I have put the principles of "Traction" into place in my business and now focus on the activity that earns us the most income. I use to be everything to everybody and spent too much time earning too little for too much activity. This book is a must read for all business owners!

Ed Primeau