Accelerating Without Losing Grip: The Power of Organizational Traction
Organizational traction is what separates companies that execute well from those that generate activity without outcomes. What it means, how to measure it, and why agility is the mechanism.
Click image to open full size A CEO asked me last week why I’m using the term Organizational Traction.
I got the inspiration from _Traction: Get a Grip on Your Business (_Gino Wickman’s book introducing EOS - here’s my take on it from a while ago).
Here’s how I explained it in the conversation yesterday:
Imagine you established a strategic vision. You know where you’re going.
But it seems like there’s no progress towards this vision.
It’s like full gas in neutral.
Trying to get a grip in the mud.
Or losing grip in a tight corner.
Or your tires are worn out. Or its time to change to winter tires.
Company operating systems like EOS, OKRs, Scaling Up, and Scrum are designed to improve traction.
It’s not about activity. It’s not even about outputs. It’s about outcomes and evidence of moving in the right direction at a good speed.
I started using traction instead of progress in my work with product organizations and company leadership teams. I find it is a better fit when trying to evolve from projects to products, from activity and output to outcomes.
If you want to dive deeper, I discuss a few of these company operating systems and explore accelerating without losing traction in the Mastering Organizational Traction email course.
Are you using EOS? Scaling Up? OKRs? Are they helping you maintain/improve traction?
A free email series on building an organization that reliably converts strategy into outcomes — without the coordination overhead.
Yuval Yeret helps product and tech leaders move from agile theater to evidence-informed delivery. Work with Yuval →
