I often hear people say, “I took this job because I can’t stand working with people.” News flash, if there is more than one person working in or on the organization it means that you have to work with people. It’s fair to acknowledge that the person sharing their disdain for people was successful in eliminating as much human interaction as possible. But what they can’t escape is that people will affect them one way or another. Even in the most isolated of positions, there is an array of impact received from other people: the decision on the type of time clock, checks received in email or paper form, leave policies, scheduling, announcements, reporting on CRM’s, process flow, and on and on and on. It’s inevitable, there will come a point where you have to deal with people issues. What Are Some Common People Issues Organizations Run Into? Leadership teams

I was working with a leadership team to implement the Entrepreneurial Operating System into their organization. In the beginning, things seemed cordial, but as sessions progressed the West Michigan Nice toxicity reared its ugly head. During a break, the Head of Finance told me that the owner strongly disliked accountability and would do anything to sabotage this process. I said, “Great, let’s put this on the issues list.” His response, “Oh no! I would be out of a job if that happened.” One week after our Vision Building session, the Head of Operations told me that the Head of Sales didn’t really care about executing on the goals she agreed to. I said, “Great, let’s put this on the issues list.” His reply, “We could, but it’s not really an issue.” Shortly after our 2nd Vision Building session, the owner was worried about the Head of Marketing’s ability to interact with

Just when you thought that you entered the relationship of your dreams, you get thrust into the “Friend Zone.” Ask anyone you know who has experienced the Friend Zone and you’ll learn real quick that it’s one of the most frustrating places to be. But I’m not talking about romance. There’s also a professional Friend Zone. So often we want to be in the “Boss Zone” but somehow we get pulled into the Friend Zone, instead. The Boss Zone and the Friend Zone The Boss Zone is a relationship of boss-to-direct reports. In the Boss Zone, you are respected, in charge, and have the opportunity to lead your team to greater success. Your direct reports understand what is expected of them and rise to the challenge. If you’re in the Friend Zone at work, you’re the boss—and a friend—to an employee. You’re perceived as a coworker, a colleague, and have

The door of the Super Bowl is only open to the best teams in the NFL. Along the journey to that one chance at greatness is a long road of discipline, grit, candor, and strategic planning. Much like the Super Bowl, business success is only enjoyed by the best companies. These companies also experience a similar journey of discipline, grit, candor, and strategic planning. The Entrepreneurial Operating System® (EOS®) is based on fundamental principles that have been around for hundreds of years. Great businesses and great sports teams alike have mastered the fundamental principles and greatly align with the core components that EOS provides business owners and leadership teams. Are You a Super Bowl-Caliber Company? Are you a Super Bowl-caliber company? See how your company rates on each of these core components. Vision Super Bowl-caliber teams are aligned around a clear plan to get to them to the Super Bowl.

In 2002, professor Bob Frey of Grand Valley State University told us, “Communication is the primary issue in organizations today.” He told the room of upcoming college graduates that business leadership teams and departments constantly struggle with alignment, simply because of poor communication. At that time, I wasn’t buying it, and I chalked it up to a fluffy lesson on communication. I just didn’t believe in the idea that seasoned business professionals struggled in the realm of communication. It was strange to me that the primary issue didn’t belong to strategic direction, human resources, technology, or anything else, but to good old-fashioned communication problems! But it didn’t take long in my young career to see the signs of poor communication. I quickly learned that communication really is the root cause of so many organizational issues. Top Business Communication Problems Here are seven common communication problems organizations struggle with. Anything, anytime – Many teams have no structure around communicating issues or opportunities, which creates free-flowing chaos Avoidance – Individual members are