Virginia Business Systems Reaps Positive Results through the Entrepreneurial Operating System®

“Once EOS® was in place, the emergencies and distractions died down. We now have a weekly forum to discuss issues. Things are getting done and when they’re not, it becomes evident why.”

Jim Dotter, President Virginia Business Systems

About Virginia Business Systems

Virginia Business Systems is in its third generation as part of Edwards Business Machines, Inc. and its sister company, EBS.

EBS/VBS has grown from a mom and pop shop selling and servicing typewriters and adding machines into one of the largest independent office equipment companies in North America. With offices in Richmond, Hampton Roads, Lynchburg, Shenandoah Valley, Winchester and Roanoke, Virginia, the company provides service and support to a diverse roster of small, medium, and large-sized businesses throughout Central Virginia.

VBS is consistently recognized as an “Elite Dealer,” a prestigious Office Dealer magazine award for top dealers.

A Need for Full Employee Engagement

Jim Dotter, president of Virginia Business Systems (VBS), knew he needed full employee engagement in the company to drive growth. He heard about the success other companies had after implementing the Entrepreneurial Operating System® (EOS®) and decided to give it a try.

EOS®, the Entrepreneurial Operating System® is a complete set of simple concepts and practical tools that has helped thousands of entrepreneurs get what they want from their businesses. Implementing EOS® helps leadership teams get better at three things:

Vision - getting everyone in the organization 100% on the same page with where the company is going and how they plan to get there

Traction - instilling focus, discipline, and accountability throughout the company so that everyone executes on that vision - every day

Healthy - helping leadership teams become a more cohesive, functional, and healthy team

In just a few meetings, Jim and his staff gained a fresh perspective and renewed energy to implement a more holistic success plan for VBS.

Challenges

VBS had grown to a size and culture very different from where it started, leaving the company more complacent than Jim knew it should be.

“ The only communication prior to EOS® was operation meetings which were borne out of people not doing their jobs.”

With confused responsibilities, sparse communication, and no company-wide vision, Jim faced the typical challenges of a growing company:

Ideas with potential to flourish were losing momentum
Siloed departments had their own idea about goals to achieve
The same topics were being talked about, but no changes were being made
Individuals were raising defense mechanisms when things weren’t getting done

Solutions

Prior to EOS®, Jim tried to fix the challenges on his own. Not having much success getting to the next level of growth, Jim brought in a 3rd party EOS® Implementer who pushed Jim and his leadership team to answer the question: “What kind of company do you want to be?”

The EOS® process guided the leadership team to establish:

A long-term Vision to paint an inspirational and aspirational view of what’s possible
A Picture to provide clarity on what the company will look like in 3 years
One year Goals to create focus on what’s most important
Quarterly Rocks to prioritize what needs to be accomplished in 90-day windows
Core values to ensure everyone knows expected behaviors
A Core focus to clarify their reason for being
A marketing strategy to attract the right customers
A scorecard to track the most important measurables
An accountability chart to provide clarity on who is responsible for what

“ Employees now feel empowered to make decisions on their own.”

For Jim, EOS® was a new, holistic way to run Virginia Business Systems. All of this information is now shared with the entire company and each department has their own goals which align with company goals.

Immediate Results

The VBS leadership team now operates cohesively. Each leader brings their own strengths to the table. The energy trickles down and the entire company has the ability to make hard decisions and is willing to learn and discover aspects of the organization outside their own function. This new focus on the overall priorities of the company is underscored with a sense of urgency and engagement. Of course, obstacles and barriers still arise, yet the structured team meetings help staff stay ahead of problems instead of playing catch up. Since implementing EOS®, Virginia Business Systems’ revenue growth is more than 20%.

“Things are getting done and when they’re not, it becomes evident why.”

About the Entrepreneurial Operating System®

EOS®, the Entrepreneurial Operating System®, combines timeless business principles with a set of simple, practical, real-world tools to help entrepreneurs get what they want from their businesses. EOS® offers comprehensive training and support to entrepreneurs and business coaches who want to implement EOS® effectively with one or many businesses.

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