The journey begins with the owners of a growth-oriented entrepreneurial company acknowledging they are not happy with the status quo. They recognize what has gotten them here is not going to get them there, and decide they are going to run their business on the...

Crucial Conversations are discussions between two or more people where the stakes are high, opinions vary, and emotions run strong (see the book “Crucial Conversations” by Patterson and Grenny).   Conversations around behavior and performance are the most crucial of...

Southwest Airlines is by far the most successful commercial airline in US history.  But Southwest’s beginnings can be traced back to this simple napkin drawing:   Legend has it that in 1967, after shuttering Wild Goose Airlines, Rollin King turned to his attorney,...

One of the tensions entrepreneurial companies have to manage is the transition from scrappy informal startup to a more mature organization that can grow and scale with formal structure, processes and systems.  Entrepreneurs rightly fear that their organization may...

While great leaders look outside their organizations to learn from the mistakes and best practices of others, there is a danger in endlessly searching for that elusive ‘magic bullet’ they feel is missing from their company.  Too many times leaders read a book, attend...

Stalled Growth. People Issues. Lack of Clarity. Easily Distracted. Unable to Scale. In working with the owners of entrepreneurial firms we continue to see these issues and others keep owners awake at night and cause them to be frustrated during the day. These...

There are many reasons the Entrepreneurial Operating System® has "Raving Fans" Things that work in our world develop "raving fans" - people can't help but telling others how great an experience they had eating at a restaurant, seeing a movie, reading a book or the...

During the early days of a business, any paying customer is an ideal customer.  The reality of trying to make payroll, gain experience and develop a reputation drives many entrepreneurs to accept any paying work that comes their way. But pursuing and accepting work...