Traction: Get a Grip on Your Business

This book has a great roadmap for improving business function and processes

Before reading, I didn’t really understand why this book is called “Traction.”Traction is the grip that tires have on a road or other surface. I know it also says “get a grip on your business,” so it almost makes sense — but the act of “getting a grip” usually involves imagery related to hands, not tires.It didn’t take long before I started to understand: It’s called “Traction” because it’s going to help us stop spinning our wheels as an organization and get somewhere.This book was recommended to me by multiple people separately as I discussed struggles as a manager where my team always had our ducks in a row, but then would get bottlenecked and held back whenever we needed another team’s help with a project. There was a lot of “hurry up and wait” going on, where my team would finish our parts of a project and then get stuck waiting for others who viewed their own projects as higher priority.The real problem was disorganization and a lack of communication from the top down. Everyone had a different idea of what the companies top priorities are or should be.Then the CEO read this book and started making changes based on it. Many of the changes aggravated or upset me, from pulling the executive team aside for a full week to rewrite our core values while I was trying to get the ball rolling on 4th quarter marketing plans to firing people who I didn’t think deserved to be fired.Then I read this book and I now understand what’s happening, including the firings. Did they “deserve” to get fired? In most cases, no. But they were all cases where someone was either not quite the right person for the job or we didn’t really have a need for their skill set and it was a waste to keep them on payroll for sentimental reasons.Now I feel I should clarify this is NOT a book about firing people lol that’s just an example of how I witnessed my employer implementing some of the concepts in the book.No, Traction is a book about getting your organization organized, getting everyone (and I mean EVERYONE) on the same page and focused on the correct priorities, and fostering healthy communication between teams… And this description barely scratches the surface.Most “business books” I’ve read are full of fluff and often not even good fluff. Traction isn’t like that. Every chapter contains legitimate value and it lays out a system that will help your organization stop spinning its wheels.

So I have been in business some 16 years. I am an expert in my field and even on the bleeding edge of the field over the last few years. I have no formal business education so I studied for years at the school of hard-knocks to get my MBA. I've read every book I could get my hand on. I applied as much as I could, but my business struggled to grow to the size I wanted and needed in order to do the level of business I wanted to do.I've read most of Michael Gerber's book based on the E-myth concept which I was certainly in. So for 5 to 10 years I worked on the business instead of in it. The big takeaway from all the E-myth books and even several E-myth Worldwide training I did. However as much as I understood the importance of processes and delegating and managing better I still struggled.Then I had a friend recommend I read Traction and the partner book Get A Grip. WOW! This stuff really made it all click. The years of business study are all now being applied in a simple and manageable way. In the first 30 days of being introduced to Traction, I read it, listened to the audio version twice and read Get A Grip and listened to half of the audio version currently. On top of that I started applying the strategy to my business.I have never been more focused and more clear about how to hit the big future goals I am going after. I know that over the next 50ish days (of Q4 year end) we will have this system up and running and my business will be in a place it has never been before… accurately predicting future projections, solving real problems and issues forever and growing at pace that we've never experienced before.I've read Good To Great a few times and you know really struggled with figuring out how a small business like mine could define and create the "right seats" so that we would understand how to attract and keep the "right people" in those seats. Although I didn't get this from Jim Collins book, the theory made sense. Implementation on the other hand was the challenge. Traction took the theory of Good To Great and made it applicable for me.Now granted I also am now working with EOS Worldwide to roll-out these strategies faster, but that is the thing… Traction is all about application. The book is titled Traction for a reason, reading opens your eye to more than just business theory, it also delivers the tools you need to get traction. At least for my company it seems to be. I have only been at this for 30-40 days and things are sick. I mean we are seriously getting TRACTION! I can't wait to see where we are at in 3 months, 6 months, 1 year, 3 years, and 10 years. At this rate the future is looking pretty darn bright.If you are a small business owner or small CEO that is frustrated with your company and feels like you've done it all and wasted a ton of cash and time trying every business theory and concept that came along and have little to show for it, then you may want to read Traction. This is the best damn business book I have read EVER! Only because it is real world and it give you more then theory, it actually gives you the tools you need to run and manage your business, your people, your clients, your profits and even your personal life (if you're working like a dog and missing family time, this book will help you get control of your personal life as well)! I highly recommend this book to anyone running a business that feels out of control.

My CFO recommended Traction to me. It's all about helping business owners and entrepreneurs get a better handle on running their companies.The core idea is the Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS) - a set of tools and principles to help make your operations more efficient, manage growth better, and overcome any roadblocks in your way.The writing style is pretty straightforward, which I appreciate. No beating around the bush.It's broken down into chapters covering different components of EOS: Vision, People, Data, Issues, Process, and Traction. Going through each one systematically lets you pinpoint your company's weak spots and apply specific fixes.But the real strength is how practical it is. There are exercises, checklists, real-world examples - stuff you can just dive right into at your own company.I'd definitely recommend giving it a read if you're looking to bring more discipline to your business operations. It's useful for companies struggling to scale up or needing a solid foundation to manage growth without losing control.

Very educational