Culture Focused Practice

 Hey. Hey, Dr. Tara Vossenkemper here. Welcome, welcome, welcome. You're listening to the Culture Focused Practice podcast. It's great to see you here. I hope you're enjoying yourself. I hope you're enjoying your weather. I hope you're enjoying your life. All the niceties outta the way. Let's get into this.

I'm doing another three part series, so I've done a couple in a row. I really like the cadence. I like the Rhythm Three part series. This. Series, the EOS Bootcamp series. The entire focus is to give you a really clear and practical introduction to EOS, which if you don't know, is the entrepreneurial operating system. Ideally, this whole thing serves to show you how you can create structure, accountability, and sustainability in your business without totally being overwhelmed.

That's the goal. So again, three episodes. Episode one, which is this one you're listening to right now. This is just EOS 1 0 1. So what is it and why your group practice needs it. Episode two, we're gonna get more into vision and traction. And then episode three, we're gonna get more into right people, right seats and issues. Man, I love issues.

Okay, so if you don't know by now, you may be living under a rock. Totally fine. Lots of creatures live under rocks and they live rich and full and robust lives. If you are one of those creatures, I would like to introduce you to EOS, also known as the entrepreneurial operating system.

Obviously that's a mouthful, so most people call it EOS for short. This is a concept. This work of art is created by Gino Wickman, and of course he has mentors, and I know he credits a lot of this to his father, who is a serial entrepreneur, was an entrepreneur for Gino's whole life. His goal is basically helping entrepreneurs run better businesses.

I mean, that's sort of the long and short story of it. So I, I feel like for most of my life, the things that I feel really drawn to are simple ways for explaining complex systems. I like simplicity to explain something complex because for me, it that just clicks. It only makes sense that even complex systems are really built on some very simple fundamental like cornerstones, beliefs or rules or it's things. I don't know what other language to use.

So there's actually this, um. Those birds, you know, the birds, I think they're starlings, they flock together and they're, they're so gorgeous to watch in the sky when they're all in this big flock.

'cause they basically move in unison, it seems like they're moving in one piece. And so there were all these random theories about how they must maybe have telepathy, but the actual answer is that they just pay close attention to the one wing in front of them and the one behind them. Like it's something so simple.

And when you look at it, your theory is that birds have telepathy because that's how it looks. How, how are all these creatures doing the same thing at once? That's what I'm talking about. Where there can be simple explanations for things that seem complex.

Gino Wickman's, EOS, is for me, one of those things where he breaks down business, all different components, all the different factors and variables in play breaks it down to a very simple, digestible framework. So it's, it's really geared for visionaries and entrepreneurs, people who think big and wanna do more. People who also maybe tend to overthink and they just can't make sense. They don't have, uh, my husband will always say that. He's used this before where he'll, he'll hear information and he, it's almost like he can understand the information, but in his mind there's not a shelf that it, it rests on yet.

You know, there's not something where it can't live. I think about that with this, where business owners know they might be able to say, there's all of these things to do. There's not a way of organizing all of those things are, and if we can't organize it, we can't make sense of it, and then we can't be deliberate with what we decide to do next.

That's what EOS is about. A simple way for organizing your business system. That, again, I keep saying in long story short, but that's really it. It helps us move out of babysitting, move out of being caught in the weeds and to be able to see our business for what it is, a series of people and operations and issues and, you know, anyway, we'll get into the, get into the details.

So, EOS can be used for both big and small companies. I think he says between about 10 and 250 people. Although you can use EOS with less. I've seen it used with smaller groups. It's very relevant for group practices. I think it's also for anybody who didn't grow up in a, in an entrepreneurial type family.

I, I did not, I didn't grow up in a surround, I didn't know any entrepreneurs growing up, honestly. And so for people who are really new to business or maybe you are the first gen entrepreneur can be really helpful to have a framework to learn how do I operate my business using this?

And there, there is a couple of fundamental rules before implementing EOS. This is not me for the record. I'm, I'm trying to be a channel for EOS. I don't represent it. I can give you my understanding and my take on implementing it as well as my understanding of the system itself. And I can talk to you about what I've read.

So anything I say is what I've read, how I comprehend it, et cetera. What I have read Gino say is that anybody using EOS has to be entrepreneurial. So there has to be sort of this active growth oriented mindset. We have to be willing to change. And what feels really important is that we have to be willing to be vulnerable.

I will say from experience that doing this, implementing EOS. I wouldn't say that it's hard in terms of difficult to implement. I would say that it's simple, in theory. What makes it difficult is the emotional weight and tone of some of the things that will happen because of it.

That's some of where the difficulty lies is that is in that- it's in that space where you realize you have to make really fucking hard changes, or a person that you love isn't actually a great fit for the team or. You thought everything was super clear about where we were, go, where you were going, and you realize three quarters or 90% of your team has no fucking idea. So it can be, you know, sort of shock your system, so to speak.

So if we're talking about what is EOS, like I said, entrepreneurial operating system created by Gino Wickman of, and of course all the people who influence him. Very simple, very real world, very practical. Built for visionaries, entrepreneurs, people interested in growth and action oriented and willing to change and willing to be vulnerable.

Here's what it feels like not having EOS. If we're talking about what it is, here's what it's like not to have it in place. One is that you don't have a clear baseline for maybe hiring or assessing cultural fits. You don't really understand how do I know if this person's gonna be good for my team? There's no process for culture at your practice, for example.

Another thing might be that there's just inconsistent practices and policies, and this could be related to inconsistent roles and responsibilities. So who are people going to to ask what questions? If we don't have something clear, then person A might go to person B, but person D might go to person E.

And you know, B and E have different answers and they're in different roles and they have different responsibilities. And so there's just a lot of confusion across the board about who do we go to for what? Or a lot of, in a, from an owner perspective, there might be a lot of responsibility for too many things.

Like everybody needs to come to me for everything. So we end up being the bottleneck. I dunno about finding, putting ourselves in that situation. Sure. But also just at that point, we are the bottleneck. People are coming to us for everything, asking all these questions, and we don't even wanna answer more than half of them.

They all fucking suck. We don't like the questions. We're sick of answering them. We tell 'em, just read that thing or just go to that person and maybe we're part of the reason why there's inconsistency and confusion. Of course we are, for the record. I don't even know why I said like that's a, a possibility that it's not true.

We absolutely are part of the reason why there's in consistency and confusion, and so we're feeding into something that's actually coming back to not serve us.

There also might be no marketing strategy or basically just throwing spaghetti at a wall, which maybe, hey, you know, maybe that's effective at first and then it, it's not, and then all of a sudden it's not effective and you're sort of rock struggling or wondering like, oh, fuck, how do I do this? How do I get more clients the door? How do I get more candidates in the door? How do I make sure that the business stays afloat? I'm bringing on more employees and so therefore I'm trying to keep us full. How do I do this? Spaghetti throwing will not work at that point.

There also might not be a clear sense for how you are doing what you're doing. This for me was the biggest thing. I knew that I'd gotten us to a certain point and I had read a bunch of books. I like reading and especially when I'm like getting into something, I like to ingest, you know, a lot of knowledge, as much knowledge as I can.

And so I read about KPIs and metrics and I had read about marketing and I had read about, of course, like front, front facing and back end marketing, and I'd read about systems and I, you know, and I read about some leadership stuff and I'd read about like delegating I all of these things. Like I had done all of these things, but I couldn't have told you what had gotten us from the point of conception inception the point at which we started that, I started the practice up to where I was right then. I don't know. It was me busting my ass, working way too fucking much, not spending enough time with my family. That's really what it was, is me being up till two in the morning creating spreadsheets for tracking shit, because I realized, oh my God, we need to track this information.

I don't have any idea. Then what happens? Of course, then you're burned the hell out. You're exhausted. It was total happenstance that I learned about Traction. I forgot about this actually until right now. I was getting a, Hmm. A bid on some construction or some paint or something at the office at the time.

And this painter came through and he was great. I mean, he owned his business. He was really, really great. And we were talking about business and he said something about reading Traction. He just mentioned this book. And then he started basically like giving me ave reviews on it. At that point I was in like ingestion mode and I really wanted, I wanted to know more and so I bought it and I mean, you know, two chapters in, I just, I was done like, oh, holy shit, this is it.

Like this absolutely is the thing that I've been looking for, which is a, basically it was the understanding for how I'd gotten from where I started to where I was at that point in time. Furthermore, it's how I go from where we are now, clean it the fuck up, and then move through to where we're trying to go.

So it gives you, it's an operating system, it's called eo, uh, the entrepreneurial operating system, EOS. So thinking about like any sort of operating system on your, your computer, it's something that runs behind the scenes that influences everything that you do. Once it's set up and in motion and you have all these pieces in place, you're not actively thinking about, well, how do I do this through an EOS perspective everything you do is touched by it. It's, it's just so simp. It's so brilliant, so simple.

So here's a few more. I wanted to post some questions. I want you to just listen to these and not along. And so again, we're thinking about what it feels like not having EOS. If you are asking yourself these questions, this just might point to what it feels like to not have E Os.

So you might be saying, why does everything fall back on me? Why does everything fall back on me? Am I the only one who cares about the success of the practice of the group? Or do I feel like I'm constantly putting out fires? Is this what owning a business is supposed to feel like? Is this it? Am I doing this right?

Am I doing this wrong? I don't have any sense for what's good or bad. Why do our goals change every quarter? How do we underperforming? Why can't I find or keep solid team members? What is it about hiring that is wrong? Am I even hiring on purpose with intention? Are they, are these people? Is my team, are they the right fit?

Or am I just tolerating them? What do I need to measure and how do I need to measure it? Do we ever finish what we start? Do I just need to try harder or is there something broken? Is there something fundamentally flawed about what I'm doing? Or am I just not trying hard enough? Further than that, I would say, how do I try harder when I'm so exhausted?

I'm already burnt out. How am I supposed to give more to this? Those would indicate to me that you need something like EOS in your life.

Why does it matter for group practice owners? You might think, okay, that's great, Tara. That sounds great, but why? Who gives a fuck? Why does this actually matter? Well, hope to God you didn't actually think that because if you are answering, nodding your head to asking yourself those questions, I would say, how can it not matter?

Like there's no part of this that doesn't matter. You are the one that brings life to your business. If you can't answer those questions and you don't know how you got from point A to where you are currently, you aren't gonna know how to move forward. You're gonna burn the fuck out, you're gonna be exhausted and burnt out.

It matters because you matter. It. It matters because you matter. You matter not only period, but also to the growth of your practice, which includes all of the people who are part of it. It's not just you benefiting from this, it's your entire team. And I would further than that, I would say, and the community around you with you have a streamlined practice, a simplified, streamlined, clear practice, it's beneficial on every single level personally, colleagially and community wide, it's beneficial. That's why it matters. It matters because you fucking matter and you matter not only in your business, but also as a human. You should feel good about what you're doing. You shouldn't feel run down and run ragged and like you have no clue what's happening and you don't understand how to, how you got in it or how to get out of it.

So exhausting, and I've been there. I'm saying this like I'm not preaching at you. I mean, I might sound like I'm proselytizing. It's. It's personal. It's absolutely personal. I have been there. I know that feeling. It's fuck, it sucks so bad. It's so hard to be in that space where you are run hella raggedy.

You're just, you're just ratchet. You're fucking raggedy and you're exhausted and you have no idea how you're gonna get out of it, other than I'm gonna keep grinding, you know. That, it works for so long, it that can work for some people. Maybe they love that lifestyle. I am not one of those people. At this point in my life, I'm not one of those people.

So I'll say it matters also, and this kind of, maybe it's just putting a bow on the whole conversation about why it matters, but. It brings you and your entire team, and I would say larger than that, even the people who interact with you, it brings a sense of structure and clarity and consistency.

It's really nice to know what's expected and to know who does what, and to know who to go to and to know what's measured and to know what's rewarded, and to know how we hire and to know what's disciplinary, and all of those things laid out clearly and being upheld clearly is relieving. People can relax into that structure.

Additionally, this for me feels very important. Implementing EOS allowed me to be more of me in my business. And so as the visionary in my practice, I thrive on having freedom. I like space to just think and roam, go wherever my mind takes me and have random ideas, and I wanna try this out and let's do this.

It allowed me, it afforded me more space to be able to do those things. So rather than implementing a system and thinking, oh God, it's gonna, it's gonna hamstring me like I'm gonna be stuck in this tiny little compartment box, no you're not. It's gonna allow you freedom. The freedom that you probably were seeking when you started your business in the first place.

It will allow you freedom, it will allow you flexibility when and if you implement it in a healthy, appropriate way.

Okay. Now enough of me waxing and waning. Was it waxing poetic? Isn't that what they say? Enough of me talking about EOS. Let me just about how much I love it, how it can be helpful for you. All those things are true. I'm not negating what I said or dismissing it or saying like I was just bullshitting though. It's all true, but it's enough of that.

I wanna shift over. Let's talk about the six key components of EOS. So. When I say EOS, of course I have something specific that comes to mind. If this is new to you, you're gonna, you don't have any idea what this is, so I'm just gonna break down to you.

There are, just think about a, a, a piece of pie. You know, not a piece of pie. Excuse me. A whole ass pie. Big ass chocolate pie. I, my preference is chocolate pudding pie. My husband likes apple pie. My point is a pie cut in six, even slices.

Six components. I'm gonna list them all first, and then I'll go through and just very, very briefly tell you what each one is a little more in depth. One is vision, two is people. Three is data. Four is issues. Five is process and six is traction.

So let's go through this again. Number one is vision. So vision is basically knowing where you're going and how you're gonna get there. Very straightforward, very cut and dry, very straightforward. I love, love the vision component. This is where your values live.

This is where your 10 year target lives. This is where your core focus lives. So many parts of who we are and where we're going. Just such a beautiful slice of pie.

Number two is people, I'm gonna, I'm, I'm just gonna say right now, I love all of these components, so I will stop myself from saying that every time I talk about a new one.

So I will spare you my adoration of these components. One is vision. Know where you're going and how you're gonna get there. Number two is people. This is really about having the right people in the right seats. There's more about that as we go, but that's a whole, actually, that's basically all of episode three is the right people in the right seats.

So having the right people in the right seats. I, for the record, I don't think that was originated by Gino Wickman. I think that was a Jim Collins concept language, something like that. Gino talks about it in traction, of course, but uh, he gives credit where credit is due, and I don't mean to misspeak. I am almost positive that's Jim Collins. Sorry if I'm wrong. Correct me if I'm wrong. Please. If you're listening.

Number three is data. I know in mental health group practices and therapists in particular, they fucking hate metrics. I love metrics. You're gonna learn to love metrics, especially the right ones. So data, running your business, running the group by numbers, not just by feelings. Just as a caveat, running a business by numbers does not mean selling your soul to the devil and only focusing on numbers. There is humanity in numbers. You can, you can have, these can be one and the same. You can have numbers and you can also care about people. Both. Both are important. Numbers are feedback, data is feedback. It's a form of feedback. Very important.

Four. The fourth slice of pie issues. Oh my gosh, I have to, again, I'm stopping myself from saying how much I love each of these, although I'm not really, 'cause I keep saying how I'm stopping myself from saying how much I love each of these, each of these.

I fucking love the issues component. This is the hands down the best way I've ever seen to help people get focused and quick and good, like to help people become good at solving actual issues. So the whole issue slice of pie is about solving problems at the root of the problem. No more duct tape, no more, no more twine, no more Scotch tape, no more super glue or even gorilla glue for that matter.

This is getting to the root cause of issues and really, really solving issues so that they go away forever. That's the goal.

Fifth slice of pie process. This is about documenting the right amount of structure, so we're not talking about doing SOPs for your entire practice because A, that sounds god awful. B, we're talking about the Pareto principle. I think it's Pareto principle 20. The 20 80 20 rule. 20% of, excuse me, 20% of a process will capture about 80% of said process. Documenting about 20% will capture about 80% percent of the process. So process, that's about documenting the right amount of structure.

And then the sixth component is traction. This is executing on your goals. So again, we're gonna get into traction more and, and really executing on your goals and finding like cadence and the rhythm of your group, making sure you're staying in touch with your group in the right amount of time. So that will make more sense when we talk more about it in episode two.

One other thing I'll say about this is you don't have to be type A to make the sort of thing work. Again, I would say that it actually is really great for visionaries because it solidifies structure and simplifies things. And then it also allows you to delegate appropriately so that you could lean more into your creative visionary type ways.

So it might feel like, I'm gonna be micromanaging, I'm gonna be babysitting, I'm gonna, this is more of the same. No you won't. No you won't. No, it's not. This absolutely is not more the same. You're not gonna be micromanaging if you are. That's a people issue for the record or a process issue. And you're not going to be, you're not gonna be babysitting.

This is not, those things don't, there's not room for them when implementing EOS or when operating from an EOS perspective. Okay. Very last thing again, just to recap those six components, vision, people, data issues, process, traction. I just wanted to say them one more time just to to wrap them all up. All right.

If you are listening and you realize, holy fucking shit, this sounds like what I need, good. Welcome to the club. I read it and I never turned back. I've never turned back again. I haven't seen anything else that does a better job of capturing all of the components of operating and running a business. I'm coming again from the perspective of somebody who has had prior to starting my own business, no experience with business in my life.

I mean that what? Like very sincerely, none. No family, no friends, no nothing. It was me. It's just me. Other than working. Actually, that's a lie. I did work for group practice before I went off and did my own thing. Okay, so if you are nodding along and you're realizing, holy shit, this is exactly what I need, like I don't know where we're going.

I don't know how I got here. I don't know what to do next. Please subscribe to this podcast. The point of this whole series, and I would say the point of this podcast because it's infused with EOS, but the point of this series in particular, the EOS bootcamp is to. Help you sort it out is to help you learn about EOS in such a way that you maybe feel comfortable pursuing it more and implementing it into your own group practice, which will give you and your team and your peace of mind and clarity and much more, uh, much higher sense of ease.

So make sure you subscribe to the podcast to stay in tune with this. Two more things. One, I have a freebie. Freebie. Um. I wonder how that will come across in a transcript, making like that sound effect. I wonder how that will be transcribed. I'm gonna leave it in there in case anybody's reading along as they listen or watch, I guess.

Um, there's a, I started a free Facebook group because I love EOS, so it started a free Facebook group called the EOS Collective for group practices. So basically just EOS tips, people who are actively in the process of implementing or. Are like flirting with implementing, or maybe who are actively using it and want a space where they know other people have that framework, have that, have that thing in mind.

It is, like I said, the EOS Collective for group practices. Go to www.facebook.com/groups/eoscollective.

Third thing, I got three things for you. Number one, subscribe. Number two, free Facebook group.

Number three, I run an EOS Mastermind twice a year. This is specifically designed for group practices, group practice owners or leadership, honestly. I people in leadership as part of this mastermind. Join my wait list. Go to taravossenkemper.com, highlight work with me, and then there's the EOS Mastermind.

This whole mastermind is designed to help people implement EOS. It's a six month mastermind. We meet twice a month with working meetings twice a month as well, private group portal with a bunch of resources, all of the bells and whistles that come along with any sort of Mastermind. And the sole purpose is to help people start to implement EOS.

I'm not an official EOS implementer. I am a person, a practice owner who fucking loves EOS and wants to see more group practice owners implement this into their world. So I think that's, I think that's it. I think that's all I got for you today. I really hope this was helpful and it, this is your first rah with EOS.

Welcome. I hope that you are drinking the Kool-Aid and that it tastes sugary sweet going down that pipe. So. Thanks for being here with me, making this awesome. I would not do this without you, and I really appreciate listening and I will see you on the next one. Okay, bye.