‘Traction’ is gaining

BY ERIC NEWELL

As any entrepreneur knows, running a business is not easy. I enjoy it every day — but it is definitely a challenge. I am personally driven by the challenge of running our business as well as a business can be run. To that end, I’m always looking for ways to run the business better.

About ‘Traction’

On his first day with the company in May 2013, our vice president of business development said, “You really need to read this book called ‘Traction’ by Gino Wickman.” He said a number of companies in Minneapolis have been following the roadmap to success outlined in the book and they’ve been extremely successful.

The book talks about six different components of business: your vision (where you define your mission, values, niche and 10-, three- and one-year plans), your people (how to define accountabilities and put people in the right seat on the bus), your data (the importance of scorecards), your issues (how to bring up issues quickly, discuss them and move to resolution quickly), your process (how to take advantage of your unique processes) and Traction. “Traction” is the way you adopt and make all these components real within your business. Without that, you miss out on the execution necessary to make your business successful.

How it works at Stoneridge Software

We introduced Traction as a way to run our business in July 2013 and have been building on it ever since. Implementing this method of management has led to several practical differences for us: We have a common set of values and vision which has helped guide our decision making and build a cohesive team, we implemented a weekly scorecard which tells us in great detail what we’re doing and where we need to apply attention as a leadership team, and we have weekly meetings that bring us together as a leadership team to tackle issues, make decisions and keep the pressure on key initiatives within the company.

More companies adopting the concept

Having never heard of Traction before last spring, I’ve been surprised at how many successful companies are using it and how much it’s helped devotees improve as business leaders. I recently joined a group of regional CEOs who get together each month to talk about how we can run our businesses together, and all of us are implementing Traction. The winner of the Barnesville Business Pitch competition last August is also planning to implement it as his new business takes off.

I encourage all business leaders to check out the concepts in “Traction: Get a Grip on Your Business” and consider how they can help you run your business. I was amazed by the clarity with which the book brings together these best practices into a system that has helped our business thrive. It’s been a key element of our success and is being used at many other successful companies in the area. PB

Eric Newell President Stoneridge Software eric@stoneridgesoftware.com