The Geneseo Chamber of Commerce will offer local business owners and leaders an introduction to the Entrepreneurial Operating System during an upcoming Lunch & Learn designed to help businesses turn goals into more focused action.
The program will be held Wednesday, Oct. 15, from noon to 1 p.m. at The Exchange St Works, 123 S. Exchange St. in Geneseo. The event is open to Geneseo Chamber of Commerce members, lunch will be provided and an RSVP is required. Space is limited.
Justin Meints, a certified EOS Implementer with EOS Worldwide, will lead the session. The program will focus on practical tools businesses can use to establish priorities, align teams, run more focused meetings, identify problems and improve execution.
The Chamber’s interest in bringing the program to the local business community grew out of its own experience working with Meints.
During the transition of the Chamber’s executive director role, the organization worked with Meints on Chamber governance, goal setting and strategic planning. Geneseo Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Lindsie Akers said the experience demonstrated that the concepts could be useful even for a relatively small organization.
“Even being a small organization, his approach was extremely eye opening, and we want to bring that to our members,” Akers said.
The Lunch & Learn will introduce businesses to the EOS system while also making them aware that someone in the area specializes in working with businesses from developing strategy through executing it.
Akers said the challenges addressed during the program aren't necessarily indications that a business is struggling.
“I think a lot of businesses, regardless of how successful they are, have areas they know they could improve,” Akers said. “Business owners and managers are often wearing a lot of hats, juggling competing priorities and trying to keep everyone moving in the same direction. Sometimes the challenge isn't knowing what needs to be done — it's creating the structure and accountability to actually get it done.”
Meints compared that process to coaching in athletics: “The greatest athletes in the world still need a coach. Business is no different.”
The program isn't intended only for large companies. Businesses and organizations of varying sizes can incorporate EOS tools and disciplines into their operations.
Business owners can also explore the system independently through Traction: Get a Grip on Your Business by Gino Wickman and begin implementing its concepts themselves. Others may choose to work with an EOS Implementer to teach and coach their teams through the system.
Attendees at the Oct. 15 program are expected to leave with an understanding of what EOS is, along with a couple of tools they can begin putting into practice in their own businesses.
The Lunch & Learn is also part of a broader Chamber effort to increase educational and professional-development opportunities for the local business community.
“One of the areas the Chamber is focusing on this year and into the future is creating more opportunities for education and networking as a value-add to membership,” Akers said.
The Chamber has begun offering those opportunities on a smaller scale this year, and Akers said the response has been positive. Next year, the organization plans to expand the effort with monthly networking opportunities, some of which will include an educational or professional-development component.
“We want Chamber events to be more than another thing on someone's calendar,” Akers said. “Whether it's making a new connection, learning something they can apply to their business or getting access to a resource they didn't know existed, we want members to walk away feeling like their time was well spent.”
The Geneseo Chamber Lunch & Learn will be held Wednesday, Oct. 15, from noon to 1 p.m. at The Exchange St Works, 123 S. Exchange St. The program is open to Chamber members, lunch is provided and an RSVP is required. Space is limited.