E20: The Entrepreneur Operating System with Mike Paton

Today we are talking to Mike Paton, the visionary of EOS Worldwide, which stands for Entrepreneur Operating System. It’s been popularized by the book Traction, by Gino Wickman. Mike is an author and speaker who helps entrepreneurs clarify, simplify, and achieve their visions with simple tools that we will be talking about today.

Some of the highlights of the show include:

• What got Mike interested in entrepreneurism in the first place and how his parents and childhood and family life helped him on his path.
• The history of EOS and how Mike was inspired by the simplicity and practicality he read about in Gino Wickman’s book, Traction.
• How using EOS helps businesses become more profitable through a shared vision, as well as what types of business might not be a good fit for EOS.
• The difference between power and control: The tendency is to view them as the same thing, but Mike explains why they are actually opposites.
• How Mike helps agencies and entrepreneurs work the EOS model into their businesses.
• How EOS can help people get out of “fire drill” mode and prioritize effectively.
• How Mike achieved becoming the visionary of EOS Worldwide, as well as thoughts on getting a new visionary for your own company.

Links:

EOS Worldwide 
Traction
Get a Grip: An Entrepreneurial Fable
EOS Model
Rocket Fuel
Zoom
How to Be a Great Boss
The One-Minute Manager Meets the Monkey
EOS Books

Quotes by Mike:

“Life got me into entrepreneurship.”

“EOS is a very particular way of running a business and it’s absolutely not for everybody.”

“You can’t have an independently capable, highly accountable, skilled, passionate, effective leadership team if you just want them to do what you tell them to do.”