Power tip: "SMBs: Read the Room & Assess," Shawn Dan
“Take time to read the room and assess how the operating system is working as you go.”
Transcript
Ryan Castle: You’re listening to Level 10 Leaders Power Tips, and I’m your host, Ryan Castle. Today’s tip comes from Shawn Dan, a Fractional Integrator for companies running on EOS®. Shawn’s power tip is about how small and medium business owners can learn to “read the room” and assess how their operating system is working as they go. Let’s dive in.
Shawn Dan: If you're an SMB, take time to read the room. Read the room and assess how the operating system is working as you go. I had this conversation with one of my clients this week. We know we're below the suggested target size parameters for a company that EOS is designed for, and it made me think about why it’s still working for us.
I recommend three things:
First, deeply understand the letter of the law.
Second, understand the intent behind the letter of the law and the operating system.
And third, be very deliberate about right-sizing what fits for your company without removing the intent of the system.
A couple of examples:
We removed Headlines from our Level 10 Meetings. We use our Slack channel for that because it was redundant. Everyone already knew the information as we went along.
Second, as an asynchronous company, we make short Loom videos for status updates. Anywhere discussion isn’t needed, we’ve removed it from meetings. We use async tools like Loom or Slack instead.
It took us about a year to get the scorecard we currently use. There have been several times where we eliminated duplicate metrics that were telling the same story. Streamlining that made it much more useful in running the business.
Our process documentation is pretty high-level, but effective. However, our checklists are very detailed, especially in areas where we’ve had higher turnover.
We also added a communication-map tool that outlines which communication method to use for specific types of information.
In summary: if you’re an SMB, think about which parts of the operating system truly work for your company. Use what you can digest, and tweak as needed. It’s about understanding purity while staying realistic.
Ryan Castle: Thanks, Shawn. To connect with Shawn, go to level10.us/06. While you're there, be sure to check out more Power Tips, and thanks for listening.
