Something had to change. Truscott Rossman has been a leading public relations firm in Michigan since it was started in 2011, and we took a big step in 2021 moving our headquarters to Detroit and offering new story-first services to clients. We didn’t want to stop growing, but it was starting to feel like we were bumping into our ceiling.
That’s when I thought about EOS. The Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS) is a set of tools and principles designed to help organize a team and get people committed to the same goals. I originally learned about EOS from The Grand Rapids Chamber. I experienced the GR Chamber’s EOS transformation and, as an active member, could feel the positive impact of having the right person in the right seat.
Transitioning Truscott Rossman to fully operating on EOS was far from a stroll in the park. Each time I heard about the promises of EOS it was music to my ears, but in the back of my mind I knew TR was not ready for this significant of a change. Our processes during that time were well-intentioned, but our team was not moving forward together. Speaking with other colleagues, we agreed TR needed to incorporate a project management system.
Previous efforts to revamp our structure and processes were unsuccessful, but instead of letting that hold us back, we decided to learn from it and try again. I am unyieldingly dedicated to growth and improvement, and it’s with that mindset that I first approached our leaders, John Truscott and Ron Fournier, with the idea of EOS.
I vividly remember the bitter winter morning. My kids had the day off from school, so I resorted to locking myself inside the vestibule of my front door for an unscheduled phone call. I was at my wit’s end, we were discussing something for the 100th time, and a decision seemed far away. Despite my girls’ attempts to get my attention by peeking through the windows and knocking on the door, I made a decision to push for change. I laid out what EOS was and how it could benefit TR.
We all saw the opportunity to take TR to another level. And then the real work began.
In the several months following, we began the EOS implementation process. For the first time ever, we were able to have difficult, clear conversations about the future of the organization; however, it was far from perfect. While we thought we had it all figured out, there were growing pains. Implementing this process would be… quite the process.
And we’re still working through it. Each day we get a little better as we continue to learn more and more about navigating EOS. We’re still learning how the system can best support our team, but we have already seen how it will help us break through that ceiling. As a leader committed to the greater good, initiating the implementation of EOS has been and will continue to be a beneficial business decision.