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Book Review
Traction by Gino Wickman Published 2011 Read & reviewed August 2025 |
DISCIPLINE = FREEDOM.
If you read this book and do what it says, you will increase revenues, profits, cash flow, and wealth,
decrease exasperation, and gain peace of mind and improved quality of life.
It is as good as money in the bank.
The intel in this book CAUSES MONEY.
Just do it.
If you read this book and do what it says, you will increase revenues, profits, cash flow, and wealth,
decrease exasperation, and gain peace of mind and improved quality of life.
It is as good as money in the bank.
The intel in this book CAUSES MONEY.
Just do it.
*** EOS® is a registered trademark of EOS Worldwide ***
We integrate via CSV/API with popular operating-system tools (including those used by EOS teams).
Our role is operational hygiene—keeping weekly metrics, decisions, and follow-through airtight--
while your facilitator focuses on in-room outcomes.
We integrate via CSV/API with popular operating-system tools (including those used by EOS teams).
Our role is operational hygiene—keeping weekly metrics, decisions, and follow-through airtight--
while your facilitator focuses on in-room outcomes.
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Favorite quote:
". . . Successful businesses operate with a crystal clear vision that is shared by everyone. They have the right people in the right seats. They have a pulse on their operations by watching and managing a handful of numbers on a weekly basis. They identify and solve issues promptly in an open and honest environment. They document their processes, and ensure that they are followed by everyone. They establish priorities for each employee and ensure that a high level of trust, communication, and accountability exist on each team" (9). |
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EOS + QuickBase = A MARRIAGE
MADE IN HEAVEN!!! |
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Traction is so good, it inspired me to build what I am calling The DISCIPLINE App. It is changing how I serve my clients by democratizing EOS, making it accessible to anyone who wants to try it.
Data was helpful in refining Score Card nuances.
Here are a couple of demo videos:
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Computer - 12 min video
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Comparison of Mobile Experiences - 4 Options
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I have always hated meetings. I've threatened to get myself that coffee mug that says, "This meeting could have been an email." You know which one I'm talking about?
But this book may actually get me to love meetings. We shall see.
I mean, don't get me wrong: I'm not some Unabomber recluse. I like meetings with clear agendas that start and end on time and actually accomplish something. Problem is, I've never met one. It's like a unicorn, an impossible dream.
That is, it has been . . . until now.
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The "Mosts"
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Let's begin this review by reciting the "Mosts." They were noteworthy, popping up regularly throughout the book.
Wickman is like E.F. Hutton: when he talks, I listen. He has a broad perspective and thousands of hours of experience. So when he says "Most people . . ." or "Most businesses . . ." I sit up and pay attention.
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Reflection: Grandiosity
"What's your BHAG?" (Big, Hairy Audacious Goal, coined by Jim Collins & Jerry Porras in Built to Last) "What are your Core Values?" These are grandiose questions that ordinary people find daunting. "BHAG? What BHAG? I'm just trying to make it to Friday!" Right? "Core Values? What do you mean Core Values? Who do you think I am, the Pope, or the President of the United States? I'm just an ordinary Joe. How can I improve on the Ten Commandments and the Golden Rule? Get out of here with your 'Core Values' hype . . . your contrived, preachy, poster-talk. Ew!" Ya feel me? Grandiosity. I suspect that in many cases, aside from the cost, time, and patience involved, it's a deal breaker. It's one of the reasons people who need it, give EOS a hard pass. In democratizing EOS, I'm hoping to make it more accessible to more ordinary people by dispensing with the grandiosity. So don't let it sway you. Everybody needs EOS. Come on in. The water's fine. Reflection: Core Values
I gave it some thought. Here are mine.
These are what I would expect of anyone on my team, and the example that I try to set. More about this below in the Evaluation discussion. |
(Click to Embiggen)
- "The most neglected component of all, the secret ingredient of building a successful, well-run business, is process" (145). (Sorry, I couldn't resist inserting a pic of the South Park Underpants Gnomes' Profit Plan, which so perfectly illustrates this point.)
- "Countless business owners complain about their lack of control or freedom and yet, in the same breath, discount the value of process . . . . If they really saw all the (process) variations (in their companies), most business owners would be shocked. Many of them are just plain afraid to uncover what's really going on. They cross their fingers and hope that the company will just keep chugging along" (150).
- "'Do as I say, not as I do' is not effective management. I say this because most of the time this step fails because the owner or owners are not willing to follow their (own) process" (158-59).
- "The ability to create accountability and discipline, and then execute, is the area of greatest weakness in most organizations . . . . This is a real shame, because the world is filled with many great visions. Unfortunately, most will go unrealized due to an inability to gain traction" (165).
- "I can't tell you how many times I've heard the words, 'Wow, and I didn't think we'd have anything to talk about this quarter!'" (183)
- "Keep in mind your goals were set a year ago. Most people's memories aren't good enough to remember what the intention was that far back" (185).
- "The most productive outcome of the SWOT Analysis is the Issues List" (186).
- "The biggest pitfall with most teams is that they launch right into discussing and trying to solve an issue (instead of listing them first, and discussing them later)" (192).
- "All human beings are procrastinators by nature" (193).
- "Another common excuse to avoid meetings is that you're all too busy or that things are too chaotic. That is all the more reason to meet" (210).
- "Most leaders spend most of their time overwhelmed, tired, and buried in the day-to-day routine, unable to see beyond tomorrow . . . . Great leaders have a habit of taking quiet thinking time" (214-215).
DISCIPLINE app Navigation Ribbon. (Click to Embiggen)
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Reflection: "Rocks"
On page 171, Wickman shares where he got the term "Rocks", which represent 3-7 top quarterly priorities for both the group and for individual members. He mentions Stephen R. Covey's illustration in his book First Things First of how if you have a jar, and you have rocks, pebbles, sand, and water that you want to fit in it, the best way is to start with the rocks, then fill everything else in around them. The rocks come first. This is a fine analogy that I've heard elsewhere; but in the context of Traction, which is the whole point of the book, allow me to offer this, which I did not see anywhere in it: Imagine you're in a car, spinning your wheels in snow, sand, or mud. But what if you put some rocks under the tires? That's how you get traction. So to me Rocks are the highest priorities because if you put them under the tires, that's how you'll get traction, which is the whole point, or theme, of the book. Indeed, if you notice on the book cover, the background is not a jar, but a tire tread. |
Reflection: Score Cards
Score Cards are probably the most important single piece in the book, and they are discussed the least, because they're not uniform. He mentions how for 400 different companies, there are 400 different Score Cards. So what is it, exactly? A spreadsheet? Many times, yes. It might also be a whiteboard or a note pad. But you don't want to be keeping score on a white board:
A scorecard is where accountability lives. Score Cards should be completed weekly. WEEKLY! To require such frequent use of a thing that is so vaguely described is . . . well . . . it's a glaring omission. (Fortunately it's addressed more thoroughly in the companion book Data, but it's still largely conceptual. Exactly how to build Score Cards is left to the imagination and resourcefulness of the reader, which I have done in the DISCIPLINE app.) So I went to work on it in the app, and am both pleased and proud to announce that it's a prominent fixture, displayed plainly on the nav bar. It makes it EASY to take stock of weekly KPIs and keep cumulative track of them. I've even built a 90 day report exactly according to the book's specs that shows weekly scores and rolls over time, that is, drops old Score Cards off the report as new ones are added. 
(Click to Embiggen)
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(Click to Embiggen)
Evaluations. This is an issue that is loaded with legal and HR implications. (It's what my dad attempted in his Psychology practice.) You don't want to go passing value judgments on people willy-nilly. And yet you need to run your business and serve and protect your customers.
There must be some rhyme and reason to your hiring, promotion, counseling, demotion, and firing decisions. This is it.
I did some research on the matter, and found that any standards you set must be described in terms of objective, outward behavior, and documented clearly and thoroughly. Once I learned that, I built such functionality into the DISCIPLINE app. Here's a screenshot of an Evaluation record:
There must be some rhyme and reason to your hiring, promotion, counseling, demotion, and firing decisions. This is it.
I did some research on the matter, and found that any standards you set must be described in terms of objective, outward behavior, and documented clearly and thoroughly. Once I learned that, I built such functionality into the DISCIPLINE app. Here's a screenshot of an Evaluation record:
Click to expand
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The yellow dots are "Explainer Fields." When you hover your cursor over them, they show behavioral explanations. For example, here is the content of the Explainer Field for "Prepared":
Click to expand
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By defining your Core Values in practical terms, you set up a filter that both attracts the kinds of people you want, and repels the kinds you don't want. It's fair to everybody: no surprises.
And when the time comes for an employee review, well, you're all set. It provides the talking points for counseling sessions; and as you can see from the Notes tab, it's possible to write notes that are connected to the Evaluation for future reference.
The Conclusion field (the green checkmark) is a formula field that is either a green checkmark (Go), a warning sign (Maybe, needs attention), or a red X (No Go). The underlying math can be tweaked according to how many Core Values there are, and the desired weight between them and the GWC (Gets it, Wants it, is Capable) status. This is something I designed, and that is beyond the scope of the book. It helps users see at a glance how the team is doing, and where they need to focus attention.
And when the time comes for an employee review, well, you're all set. It provides the talking points for counseling sessions; and as you can see from the Notes tab, it's possible to write notes that are connected to the Evaluation for future reference.
The Conclusion field (the green checkmark) is a formula field that is either a green checkmark (Go), a warning sign (Maybe, needs attention), or a red X (No Go). The underlying math can be tweaked according to how many Core Values there are, and the desired weight between them and the GWC (Gets it, Wants it, is Capable) status. This is something I designed, and that is beyond the scope of the book. It helps users see at a glance how the team is doing, and where they need to focus attention.
Marine Corps mascot Chesty the bulldog and me at Marine Barracks 8th & I in 2019
Conclusion. If everything is important, nothing is. I used to say that to my dad, who having been born in 1931 and spent his childhood in The Great Depression, refused to throw anything away. We would go 'round and 'round about this, and never see eye to eye.
(I love him just the same.)
But it's true. In the context of this book, the Rocks are the things that are the most important. They're a handful of things on which to focus for a ninety day period.
This is what makes the difference: rising above the noise, confusion, distractions, "Shiny Things", and overwhelm, focusing like a bulldog (see Chesty and me, pictured right) on the critical few, most important things, for a sufficient period of time as to progress.
Jay Papasan and Gary Keller took this even further, saying that you could identify the most important One Thing in the handful, and focus on that; which, in practice over a ninety day period, is exactly how it works. One thing at a time, in priority order. That is the best anyone can do.
(As a cancer survivor, take it from me. That's how I did it with limited time and energy while going through chemotherapy and radiation treatment. During that time I became so proficient at putting first things first that I actually increased my income, believe it or not.)
Whenever I am struck by a particularly good idea, I build it into the applications that I develop. I have a combination of One Thing and Second Quadrant methodology built into some of my workflow apps. I built an app exactly according to Gary Keller's specifications ten years ago while reading Millionaire Real Estate Investor. And now, having read Traction, I've built the DISCIPLINE app for it. By the time I got to the end of the book, the app was done.
I could elaborate more on important pieces in the book, but most of them are in the app (see the video above), and you can pick up a copy yourself.
I hope you'll have a read, then reach out. Let's put EOS to work!
Or, why wait? Reach out now, then read the book!
Thanks for reading.
(I love him just the same.)
But it's true. In the context of this book, the Rocks are the things that are the most important. They're a handful of things on which to focus for a ninety day period.
This is what makes the difference: rising above the noise, confusion, distractions, "Shiny Things", and overwhelm, focusing like a bulldog (see Chesty and me, pictured right) on the critical few, most important things, for a sufficient period of time as to progress.
Jay Papasan and Gary Keller took this even further, saying that you could identify the most important One Thing in the handful, and focus on that; which, in practice over a ninety day period, is exactly how it works. One thing at a time, in priority order. That is the best anyone can do.
(As a cancer survivor, take it from me. That's how I did it with limited time and energy while going through chemotherapy and radiation treatment. During that time I became so proficient at putting first things first that I actually increased my income, believe it or not.)
Whenever I am struck by a particularly good idea, I build it into the applications that I develop. I have a combination of One Thing and Second Quadrant methodology built into some of my workflow apps. I built an app exactly according to Gary Keller's specifications ten years ago while reading Millionaire Real Estate Investor. And now, having read Traction, I've built the DISCIPLINE app for it. By the time I got to the end of the book, the app was done.
I could elaborate more on important pieces in the book, but most of them are in the app (see the video above), and you can pick up a copy yourself.
I hope you'll have a read, then reach out. Let's put EOS to work!
Or, why wait? Reach out now, then read the book!
Thanks for reading.
For your success,
Kris Freeberg, Economist and "EOS Junkie" (and Integrator)
[email protected]
(360) 224-4322
Kris Freeberg, Economist and "EOS Junkie" (and Integrator)
[email protected]
(360) 224-4322
The DISCIPLINE app works with teams that use the Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS®).
Not affiliated with or endorsed by EOS Worldwide. EOS®, Entrepreneurial Operating System®,
Level 10 Meeting™, V/TO™, Rocks™, Scorecard™, and IDS™ are trademarks of EOS Worldwide.
Not affiliated with or endorsed by EOS Worldwide. EOS®, Entrepreneurial Operating System®,
Level 10 Meeting™, V/TO™, Rocks™, Scorecard™, and IDS™ are trademarks of EOS Worldwide.
