“If you want to go fast, go alone.  If you want to go far, go together.” African Proverb Recently, I was in the room with a client discussing their need for a new CFO. They had what they believed to be the perfect candidate but with one issue. He had severance from his last role and wanted to begin this new position as a fractional employee to ensure it was a good fit. The leadership team had some push back to this idea because they felt all in and wanted him to have the same level of commitment. We solved the issue by creating a well defined roadmap for the CFO’s first 100 days. Almost all companies struggle when bringing on a new C-suite member. But the one thing everyone can agree on is they want the transition to be as smooth as possible with a successful and stable outcome.

“Culture eats strategy for breakfast.” -Peter Drucker   So you and your leadership team have debated, agonized, edited and re-edited your company’s core values and you are ready to “roll them out” to your whole organization. Okay, now: What do you do with them? How do you reinforce them? How do you embed them in the fabric of your organization? Core values allow you to be crystal-clear about what values your organization requires. My good friend Walt Brown explains them this way. “I define core values as the philosophy or attitude that shapes how team members treat each other, clients, and other stakeholders. Core values are the deeply held principles that set the organization apart and give it its unique personality and competitive edge. They are the cultural foundation beneath every meeting, memo, and water cooler conversation.” When core values are implemented effectively, they crystallize a “precise understanding where malcontents and

As most businesses rely on technology more and more, the option to employee virtual teams becomes an increasing logical option. The New York Times reports that 43% of Americans have participated in at least partial remote work, and that number is expected to increase rapidly over the next decade. Talent and specialized skills exist globally and with the right tools and best practices there is no reason to limit your company’s growth geographically. But just like on site organizations, cultivating a virtual team comes with its own unique set of challenges. Communication Early on, set a rhythm for consistent communication. If email is your primary contact preference, what type of situation would escalate the conversation to a phone call? Is it easiest for the entire team to communicate through shared documents or is it time to invest in software that streamlines correspondence. Whether you’re using Asana (our favorite!), Slack, or

One of the first things we do when implementing EOS in a company is to begin the process of determining the right leadership structure for the organization using the Accountability Chart.  This is usually relatively easy to do for your senior leadership team, but some of your team may have difficulty when it comes to creating a chart for their own department. Here are few tips and best practices for working through this process with your team. 1. Start by laying out the process for your team members and setting a due date for when they must provide a first draft for their department. Some will present you with the right information in an organized manner.  Others might not fully grasp the concept right away and will simply provide you with a list of names.  You may need to sit with them to help them diagram their department and spell

Recently, I was in the room with a client discussing their need for a new CFO. They had what they believed to be the perfect candidate but with one issue. He had severance from his last role and wanted to begin this new position as a fractional employee to ensure it was a good fit. The leadership team had some push back to this idea because they felt all in and wanted him to have the same level of commitment. We solved the issue by creating a well defined roadmap for the CFO’s first 100 days. Almost all companies struggle when bringing on a new C-suite member. But the one thing everyone can agree on is they want the transition to be as smooth as possible with a successful and stable outcome. The hardest part of onboarding is getting on the same page but you can attain this by creating

“Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life. ‌” ―‌ ‌‌Dr. Arthur Szathmary,‌ ‌Professor, Princeton University I was recently talking with a business owner at a break during an EOS session. She was at her wit’s end because her head of engineering just did not seem to get how to lead and manage his team. He had more institutional knowledge than anyone else on the team, built up their operations from scratch, and was by far the best engineer in the company. But as a leader, he failed to execute on major projects or reliably hire for key roles. She received complaints from his direct reports on a regular basis because they felt they had no direction, without any support from the leader of their department. She was contemplating firing him the next day. I asked my client if there was