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Our experience

Why EOS as a basis for building a "smooth running engine"?

We love to help enable good SMEs to succeed and thrive and become great businesses.  Technology is a key ingredient, but IT on its own is not enough.  We recommend that companies have good business practices - a "Business Operating System" - combined with appropriate technology.  We help with the technology part.  Aligning the right technology to a clear business plan, multiplies the effect of the technology, and multiplies the effect of the business plan. 

There are a number of different "Business Operating Systems"  that you can choose from to give you a good core business structure.  It doesn't really matter which one you use.  If you haven't implemented a business operating system, we recommend EOS - the Entrepreneurial Operating System, as described in the book Traction by Gino Wickman.

  

I didn't write Traction.  I wish I had!  Traction distils the key ingredients of running an SME that I've observed and learned through training and practical experience, and writes them better and clearer, than I've seen anywhere else.  And puts them into one joined-up simple model of running a business.

EOS brings it into clarity:

  • Have a clear vision, shared by all

  • Have the right people, in the right seats

  • Ensure your data is visible in a scorecard, with the right measurables - a data democracy

  • Ensure key processes are documented, followed by all

  • Ensure Issues are identified, tracked, and solved

  • Get traction with appropriate weekly meetings, to guide quarterly objectives

If you're interested in sorting out your technology, but not yet decided whether to implement EOS or something similar, don't worry.  Feel free to get in touch, and we can guide you on our experience.  You can implement EOS simply based upon your own experience and learning, and a book.  Or you can use an EOS "Implementer", and we can introduce you to someone appropriate.

How did we settle on EOS and our technology choices?  Below is my story, starting with the most recent.  In the process, I realised that of all the roles in a business, I am an "Integrator" in EOS terminology.

How I realised I am a naturally good "Integrator" in EOS terminology 

IS Online Ltd is led by Dave Abraham.  My story below shows how I ended up using EOS and similar business principles to run businesses.   And how did I realised I am an "Integrator"?

I'll start with the end: I read a book called "Rocket Fuel" which describes the different roles and personality types of the "Visionary" and "Integrator" in any business.  It reads as a standalone book, but it also adds more detail and context of what it the terms mean in EOS, in more detail than the book Traction has space to describe. 

 

As I read it, it was immediately clear "I'm a natural Integrator" - I have performed that role (though not using the term) as Managing Director at Cambridge Networks since 2021.  I had previously performed a similar role as CEO at Signify from 2006 - 2013, prior to successfully selling Signify. 

My journey to that conclusion: I'd read "Traction", "What the heck is EOS?" and "How to be a great boss". All of which are great books, which I highly recommend reading which make up the Traction Library. I was leading the management team at Cambridge Networks, where we selected and implemented EOS.    

Reading Rocket Fuel, I realised that prior to Cambridge Networks, I have also been extremely fortunate over my career.  I have been lucky enough to have worked with several great Visionaries over the years - John Stewart at Signify, Simon Quarendon at Words Group, John Stewart at ElectricMail, as well as the leading edge teams at Eurotunnel and Iceland Foods in the late 90s. 

Reading Rocket Fuel, it was clear that for each Visionary I'd worked with, I'd been doing "integration".  In my early days, I wasn't "the" Integrator - I was helping the MD, operations director, Marketing director, IT director, or some other "integrator" type person to implement the company vision., with a combination of technology and business skills.

   

That had culminated in my most recent roles with me being the Integrator (as well as shareholder), working with a great Visionary.

For those of you that have read Rocket Fuel - you will know that being the Integrator comes with some frustrations, such as accepting that you are the "number 2" to the visionary, and that the visionary will probably get most of the adulation.  At the time, it was frustrating.

Now I realise that suits me well , now I understand the 2 roles - I'd rather be quietly in the background making sure the engine runs smoothly.  And help the visionary be a great visionary. 

Before committing to EOS, I have also re-read "Rockefeller habits" by Verne Harnish and other books, "Emyth Revisted" by Michael E Gerber,  "Good to Great" by Jim Collins, and of course "Start with why" by Simon Sinek.  These confirmed that the EOS concepts are not new or one man's ideas, but are based upon many people's work and established practices.  But just because it's based upon those, does not mean EOS shouldn't be used. 

 

It confirmed that:

EOS gives me, and all the teams I work with, a consistent language and structure to help each business, without every person having to read all those business books! 

EOS therefore makes it quicker and easier to communicate, and implement a successful business strategy, to build a business that is a smooth running engine.  And to achieve success, with "success" meaning different things to each business owner.  

Why EOS?
Simple but not simplistic

There is not much new in EOS.  But that's not to say it's not a useful and valuable tool.  What EOS does, is bring together the best principles from many management models and books, combined that with experience using them specifically in thousands of small businesses across the world with 10-250 staff, and simplify them to a system that can be fully implemented by small business owners and their teams.

 

It's simple, but not simplistic.

    

As noted below, we'd implemented many of the concepts in my various roles previously.  However they'd each had different names or terminology.  And each new company I started working with, one of the challenges is always to agree on consistent terminology.

EOS defines the terminology, so you can focus on doing.

It makes communication easier.

Ultimately it brings the best parts of some of the great business books - Emyth Revisited, Good to Great, Rockefeller Habits, 7 Habits of Highly Effective people, into one structure - giving some standardised defined terminology and a process for consistently implementing them.

What's really good is that you can then choose to implement them yourself "self implement" or be guided by an "implementer".  There are many experienced Implementers,  

There are a few things that EOS is prescriptive of.  Some people may think it is restrictive, or doesn't tell you how to do some things that they think are important.  I take a different view - it is flexible on most things.  It doesn't say "how to do sales", or "how to pay define a pay structure".  There are lots of things it doesn't say.  And that is part of it's power.  It focuses on the most important things that every business should do, but many don't.

 

It does say you must do a weekly management meeting, at the same time every week, start on time, end on time, and follow a standard agenda, and you should master all 20 tools.  It doesn't claim that is everything.  So given that our teams already did daily stand-ups, then we've kept those for exactly the reasons that Rockefeller Habits describes.  There's nothing wrong with that, EOS doesn't tell you not to.

It describes the minimum that every good business should do, in a simple, but not simplistic way.  It is then part of the judgement of the management team to work out what you already do that you must keep doing.  And EOS brings a way to simplify and prioritise that.

Prior to EOS

Before adopting EOS:

  • 2021 - 2023: Managing Director at Cambridge Networks Ltd, implementing improvements as it turns out very similar to EOS

  • 2016 - 2021 - Chairman of Cambridge Networks, coaching the MD and management team

  • 2013 - 2021: IT Strategy for various SME businesses in and around Cambridge, UK, primarily around CRMs, dashboards, and setting and implementing IT Strategy

  • 2006 - 2013: CEO of Signify, the Secure Authentication Service (2 Factor Authentication as a cloud service. ) I would now be clear that I was the Integrator, and John Stewart, my co-founder, was the Visionary.  Over 90,000 end users, across 350 customers, including 3 of the top 10 law firms in the UK.  Attended Cranfield Business Growth programme, which contained many elements similar to EOS, but different names. Implemented "SIG Groups" equivalent to Rocks in EOS. 

  • 2000 - 2006: Co-founder and CTO of Signify

  • 1997 - 2000: IS Online Ltd: IT and web development/backend database and ecommerce strategist for various customers including Iceland Foods, Eurotunnel, and RSM Robson Rhodes

  • 1995 - 1997: Words Online - Set up and ran the Wed design studio Words Online, as part of The Words Group Ltd, a high tech PR and marketing agency in London, with clients such as NEC, Autodesk, Antares Alliance Group and Netscape.  As part of this role, heled "turn around" a small acquisition, IQ Information Services, to be profitable within 3 months of acquisition.

  • 1993 - 1995: ElectricMail Ltd: Rolling out Internet e-mail gateways to major corporations in the early days of the Internet - including Channel 4, Gordon Breach Publishing, several central government departments, Psygnosis, and many more.  Involved in installing the first CheckPoint Firewall-1 installation in the UK (Foreign and Commonwealth Office), and set up the promotional website for Pulp Fiction, with promo video compressed to be watchable over a 28.8k modem.

  • 1993: Acorn Computers: Software testing of their RiscOS operating system

  • 1988 - 1990: McDonalds Training Squad, and payroll at very good franchised store. 

In many ways - EOS is doing for every small business now, what McDonalds's gave to the owner of my franchise back in the 1980s: a structure and minimal set of operating guidelines in which to  start and run a successful business. McDonalds was obviously much more prescriptive than EOS  - McDonalds defined the core values and target market, branding etc that it wanted it wanted every franchisee and staff member to adhere to.  Including how to make the food.  And as we all know - the food is normally fast, but not necessarily the healthy or flavoursome meal that you want. The owner just had to buy have enough money to buy a franchise and follow the process. 

EOS is much better for you and me - we can come up with whatever core values and products that we want to sell, and how we want to run a company to serve our customers with the quality of product or service that we want to serve.  EOS just gives every business owner the core structure of how to run a a business - and you can decide how profitable, how efficient, how scalable you want it to be, aligned to your customers, your vision, and your core values.    

I don't want to run a McDonalds.  But the experience means that whether you want to run a highly efficient, "operationally excellent" scalable business like McDonalds, or a small niche "customer intimate" business such as a PR or marketing agency, or cake decorating business, or anywhere in between, I believe that EOS has the tools and structure to help you.  

And if you are that sort of business, I and our team can help you use technology as a multiplier, to really enable efficient, resilient, success.

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