This is the transcript of this episode:

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Mark Shriner [0:01]

‍Welcome to the Grow Fast podcast where we talk with leading sales, marketing, and personal growth experts about how companies can accelerate sales, optimize marketing, and grow their businesses fast. Let's go. Hello, everybody. Welcome back to the Grow Fast podcast. My name is Mark Shriner, and I will be the host of this episode of the Grow Fast podcast.

A couple of episodes ago, I mentioned that I have a goal of reading and reviewing a couple of sales or business growth or personal development books per month. The purpose of that is when I read them and then review them, it forces me to reflect on what I've read, helps me solidify or crystallize the content, and sometimes, hopefully, apply that to whatever situation I'm in. Today, we are going to be talking with the CEO of Dynamic Language, Rick Antezana. We are going to be talking with Rick about Gino Wickman's book called "Traction" and the main theme that runs through that book, which is the Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS).

The EOS is quite unique because it helps small and medium-sized businesses, defined as any company from one to 250 people, get to the next level. A lot of legacy companies struggle because they don't have the experience in growth and are afraid to let go of the practices that got them to where they are, preventing them from scaling. The EOS is all about helping companies get to the next level. We're going to be talking to Rick about that.

To give you a little background on Rick, he is the CEO of Dynamic Language. Dynamic Language is a leading provider of language services, including interpretation and translation, with a focus on healthcare, technology, and education. They provide a full range of these services, including transcreation, using a blend of technology and human translators and interpreters. The company is perfect for this discussion because they have about 65 employees inside and outside the US and work with thousands of freelancers, contractors, and other agencies around the world to help them scale.

Rick will tell us the story of how his organization, which was created in 1985, had reached a fair amount of success but was stalling out and needed something to help them get to the next level. The system they decided to go with is the Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS). So, hold on, and we're going to get started and introduce Rick. Here we go. Hey, Rick, how have you been?

Rick Antezana [3:03]

‍I've been good, Mark. Good to see you, man.

Mark Shriner [3:06]

‍Likewise, likewise. Hey, you know, I'm really excited to talk to you about this book "Traction" and the Entrepreneurial Operating System because I know that you implemented it in your company. Since I'm running a startup, I read the book, and it solves all these problems in advance or problems that I've seen many times in the past. I really wanted to dig into this with you. So maybe we can start at the beginning and kind of level set. What is the EOS?

Rick Antezana [3:43]

‍Yeah, happy to jump into it. We can get into the history and all that stuff. From my perspective, EOS is a business operating system. Officially, it stands for Entrepreneurial Operating System, but it's a business management system and a philosophy. For me, it's something where if a business wants to be organized across all business functions, have structure and accountability, EOS totally takes care of that. I'm not going to be proselytizing and saying, "Oh my gosh, it's the only way to go." When we were taking a look at EOS, it was one of multiple options we considered. Another one is like 4DX, the four disciplines of execution. It was almost a toss-up, a 50/50 decision, of which direction we were going to go. But for my senior leadership team, after investing their time into investigating each option, they gravitated more towards "Traction," the book by Gino Wickman, which is the basis for EOS. It was an easy decision for me. If they liked it, I said, "Okay, fine, let's go with it."

We also have a business coach who turned into our implementer, the person who helped us figure out each step of the way to implement the EOS system for our company. Prior to EOS, and not to go too far back in time, our company started in 1985, over 30 years ago. We didn't have the kind of structure that I personally crave. Once I was named CEO, I said, "Okay, step one, let's really get organized." We were successful and had a lot of things going for us, but a lot of the big picture ideas weren't getting the attention they needed, and we weren't accomplishing these big picture things. That was a big goal of implementing the EOS system.

Mark Shriner [5:54]

‍Yeah, and we're going to spend some time digging into the different aspects of it. What I've seen and liked about it is, you know, I'm a big advocate of process. I spend a lot of time on sales and business development. I believe that you have to have a sales and business development process. You can't just shoot from the hip. You need to figure out what you're going to do in every situation, every scenario, every step in the sales pipeline or funnel. You need to know what the process is. This is the first time I've seen a comprehensive process across all aspects of the business. I've seen things like OKRs and KPIs, which are great as objectives or goals, but they don't necessarily give you the process to achieve them and deal with many other things that EOS allows you to deal with.

I'm going to read something from the book, and we're going to talk about the promise. Then I'm going to ask you about some of the common reasons or frustrations that small or medium-sized business owners have in trying to get to the next level. The promise of EOS is that you'll get great employees at all levels who have a shared vision, communicate with each other, solve problems, demonstrate accountability, and have the ability to scale. That pretty much checks all the boxes for what a lot of companies are looking for. The reality is a lot of small and medium-sized businesses, maybe they start as family businesses, get to a certain level, and then start to have frustrations with different parts of the business. Can you talk a little bit about some of the challenges you had trying to scale your business?

Rick Antezana [7:47]

‍Certainly. I think about the different areas of business and how they interact. Between finance, sales, and marketing, those two areas alone are a huge challenge. Then, for us, the operations side of things. It's difficult for them all to work optimally without alignment. Especially when it comes to the identity and brand of the company. We suffered for a number of years from the marketing angle of saying, "Hey, we're all things to all people. We can translate, interpret, support any language in any vertical, etc." It's not a compelling marketing message. If someone in banking is looking for a company, they probably don't want one that specializes in gaming localization. These are two very different areas of business. For me, having that alignment and vision was crucial. It starts with a centralized vision. Once you have that, everything else can fit below in alignment. The discussions and communications we had about the vision were valuable. The team needed to understand the vision and how each part, person, and process aligned with it.

Mark Shriner [9:26]

‍It's interesting you started with vision. In the book, he mentions six key components of a successful business: vision, people, data, dealing with issues, having a process, and gaining traction. We'll touch on all those, but let's stay with vision. I've been in very painful meetings where the committee tries to develop a vision or mission statement, which turns into a mess. How did you handle developing the vision without it becoming chaotic?

Rick Antezana [10:25]

‍It's tough. To a certain extent, it was collaborative, but also somewhat top-down. It was during a big period of change for us. I had a business partner, my sister, and it was a tug of war. I always wanted more structure and a business management system, but she didn't feel the same way. When you're 50/50 partners and one says no, it's not going to happen. Once I became CEO, I was able to say, "Guys, I have a different idea for how this business can run. I believe we can be more successful by working in alignment with a centralized vision."

We did have stated vision and mission statements already, but we had to tweak them to address the current business environment and our goals. It wasn't entirely top-down; it was somewhat collaborative with a smaller group and our coach. We decided on the vision together.

Mark Shriner [12:03]

‍That makes a lot of sense. It's funny you mentioned the situation with your partner. In the book, he talks about how people don't want to let go of the vine. They've done things a certain way, achieved success, and don't see the need to change. How do you deal with that conversation?

Rick Antezana [12:41]

‍It was a challenge. The conversation was literally, "Why do we need to do all this extra work to get organized when we're already successful?" It was a mindset shift from a lifestyle business to a thriving, growing, scalable business. I wanted the latter for our company. I wanted to attract and retain top talent, which requires growth and incentivizing people. Growth needs to align with their compensation and potential for growth within their positions. For me, that was a big factor. We needed to create more tiers and opportunities for personal growth within our team. I understood that not everyone would be a 20-year employee, but I wanted to provide the best opportunities during their time with us.

Mark Shriner [15:36]What I'm hearing is if you're not growing, you're static and possibly going backward. You want to create growth to be a viable business and attract people. In order to grow, you need processes that allow you to scale. Before we jump to people, I want to stay on vision. In the book, he suggests unique ways to develop a vision statement, like listing three people you would clone for market domination and their characteristics. What do you think about that approach?

Rick Antezana [16:56]

‍Wickman does a great job of being practical. It's not just storytelling. The book contains a huge amount of direction and tools you can apply to get to the end goal of creating a vision. The exercises and tools he shares really resonated with me. It's a philosophy applied throughout the book. It serves as a roadmap. If you follow it, you'll have a system that helps drive you forward.

Mark Shriner [18:15]He doesn't just present a methodology and leave you to figure it out. He provides details on dealing with issues, data, and more. Let's talk about people. Getting the right people in the right seats is crucial. Can you talk about your experience in finding the right people and using your vision to attract and filter candidates?

Rick Antezana [18:51]Absolutely. It's important to speak to candidates about the history of the company, its trajectory, and future goals. It gives them inspiration and helps them see their potential role. We established core values a long time ago, which are intrinsic in our recruitment efforts. We have specific questions during the interview process to filter out those who don't align with our core values. It's crucial to ensure that new hires embrace these values.

Mark Shriner [20:47]

‍Having that vision as a reference is vital. It helps in identifying if a candidate fits the culture. I recently interviewed candidates and reflected on our vision, realizing one didn't fit. It serves as a touchstone for decision-making. Do you find situations where someone is the right person but in the wrong seat?

Rick Antezana [22:18]

‍Most definitely. We had an individual who proved valuable in every role. When I became CEO, I saw the opportunity to give him a step up. He's now my right-hand person, my director of operations. He started as a desktop publisher but applied himself and embraced our core values. It made sense to reward and challenge him further.

Mark Shriner [24:03]

‍It's crucial to have people take ownership of their areas. It drives the company forward. Accountability is paramount. Let's talk about data. Gathering data can be challenging, especially for salespeople. What is your approach to data and scorecards?

Rick Antezana [28:59]

‍The scorecard is the foundation of what we do weekly. We figured out key performance indicators (KPIs) for each team. Marketing has its own stats, and sales has its pipeline, closed deals, etc. The numbers that matter are reviewed weekly. It's important to set goals collaboratively and adjust them if needed. Tracking data ensures accountability and leads to conversations and actions.

Mark Shriner [33:33]In the book, he emphasizes forward-looking indicators. The P&L tells you how you did, but the number of new prospects indicates future performance. He advises having 5-15 items in a scorecard. It helps identify issues and solve them. How do you handle issues in your organization?

Rick Antezana [34:55]

‍I'm not the person with all the answers. The person most knowledgeable about the issue provides their perspective and proposed solution. We discuss and brainstorm together. Collaborative decisions are usually the best. Issues are added to our weekly meeting agenda, discussed, and resolved. It's a collaborative process.

Mark Shriner [36:30]

‍He talks about quarterly, yearly, three-year, and ten-year goals. Ten-year goals can be overwhelming. How did you approach long-term goals?

Rick Antezana [37:01]We went through the exercise of setting long-term goals, but I need to revisit them. We set an ambitious 10-year goal. We're trending ahead of our three-year goal. It's important to review and adjust goals regularly.

Mark Shriner [38:45]

‍He emphasizes having a documented process. How disciplined are you in documenting processes?

Rick Antezana [39:30]

‍We use SharePoint for documentation and training. Video training on Teams is helpful. Written documentation is crucial for accounting and finance. We use lists to ensure tasks are completed. Documentation ensures continuity in case of unexpected issues. ISO certification has taught us the importance of documented processes.

Mark Shriner [43:01]

‍Before EOS, you had to sell yourself and your team on the commitment. How did you make that decision and get everyone on board?

Rick Antezana [44:25]

‍Humans are resistant to change. It's important to paint a picture of the future and the benefits of change. Once I decided to get us organized, I knew there were benefits. I knew people who had successfully implemented EOS. It's about embracing the challenge and seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. Some people left, but we brought in new people with a fresh perspective. The process took a couple of years, but now we have a cohesive team.

Mark Shriner [48:06]

‍Most people are change-resistant. It's important to communicate the benefits and provide clarity. If someone isn't willing to be accountable, they might not be the right fit. What advice would you give to business leaders considering EOS?

Rick Antezana [49:50]

‍The best time to make a positive change is now. Structure, organization, and growth are worth the effort. It depends on your long-term goals and stakeholders. Embrace the challenge and drive forward.

Mark Shriner [52:02]

‍You mentioned having a business coach. How does that work?

Rick Antezana [52:19]

‍Our coach attends almost every L10 meeting and has one-on-one sessions with senior leadership. He's been invaluable in guiding us through the process.

Mark Shriner [53:36]

‍Thank you for sharing your experience with EOS. This information is valuable for small and medium-sized business owners.

Rick Antezana [54:04]

‍It's a pleasure to be here. I'm proud of your new venture and this podcast. Anytime you need me, just say the word.

Mark Shriner [54:15]

‍I will. Thanks, Rick. Take care.

Rick Antezana [54:24]

‍Cheers.

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