Growing Your Business Without the Pains / James Waite

Growing Your Business Without the Pains

On this episode of Where There’s a Will There’s a Way, James Waite joins host Will Crist to discuss the transformative effects that EOS implementation had on his business. James is the Integrator at Roberson Waite, an industrial electrical construction company that builds substations for utility companies and other markets.?

Will began working with James and the rest of the Roberson Waite team nearly four years ago, and the business experienced considerable change. Throughout the podcast, James outlines several growth areas where his team improved once they began implementing the EOS model.??

Company Culture

Before working with Will, Roberson Waite looked identical to many other young businesses. Employees lacked clarity in their roles, leaving many responsibilities overlooked. Nearly every decision went through James and his business partners Anthony and Tony. The team was reactive as opposed to proactive, and it showed. The business plan lacked foresight, relying on last-minute decisions and quick fixes rather than deliberate decisions and a well-thought-out plan.

“There’s a lot of growing pains involved when you expand, and you don’t have a clear, concise plan, and you don’t have roles and responsibilities clarified. You don’t have clear agreements on who’s doing what.” (3:17) - James Waite

Now, three and a half years after implementing EOS, James reports that the company’s culture is drastically different. Roberson Waite has nearly tripled its employees, but it has less drama than ever before.?

“We have less drama at 114 employees using the EOS model than we did when we had 13 employees.” (5:00) - James Waite

Without a doubt, the largest area of change has been the company’s personnel. After adopting the Right People, Right Seat model, James, Anthony, and Tony made the difficult decision to let go of many of their employees. Still, the process has proven to be worth it. Rather than having a business full of employees whose core values don’t reflect that of the company, Roberson Waite is now comprised of employees who align top-to-bottom with the brand.

“I took over one of the departments in 2018 I believe. We had 20 people in that department, and in the first two weeks, I fired nine of them. They weren’t bad guys; I really liked all those guys. It just wasn’t the right fit. They didn’t have a heavy focus on [our core values].” (4:21) - James Waite

Direction

One of the biggest struggles that Roberson Waite encountered before EOS was stagnation due to a lack of direction. The three-headed leadership team reacted to problems rather than preparing for them, and they struggled to define specific goals for their company. While they had a general idea of what they hoped to accomplish, they never outlined how they would get there, which showed in the company’s revenue.

“We were capped out around $4-5 million … I think we were at that revenue point when we met [Will]. I think the reality for us is we didn’t know how to break through and grow properly.” (7:48) - James Waite

After working with Will to implement the EOS model, James says that the team can predict its future. James and his partners can see what’s on the horizon and prepare for it.??

“I think that’s one of the big changes––we know where we’re heading. We can see it out on the horizon. We never had that before. We didn’t have a real trajectory. We had a general idea of what that could be, but now [because of EOS] we’ve got a target and we’re moving towards it. If it doesn’t work, we modify it, we adapt, and we adjust.” (17:45) - James Waite

Through this process of implementing, modifying, adapting, and adjusting, the Roberson Waite team has blown through their revenue ceiling, accomplishing more than James ever anticipated.

“We can actually gauge and predict profit a lot. We can forecast a lot more than we could before [utilizing EOS] and a lot more effectively than we could before.” (22:28) - James Waite

Owning Your Business

Prior to EOS, James experienced something that most entrepreneurs encounter along their journey. Rather than owning their business, their business owns them! James consistently worked between 60 and 70 hours a week, and every decision went through James, Anthony, and Tony. The trio was swamped, and they didn’t have time to focus on the business development and planning that Roberson Waite needed so badly.?

Through EOS, the leadership team decided to decentralize and delegate approvals, responsibilities, and decision-making. They’ve crafted a group of leaders within their organization that can handle day-to-day issues, allowing the executive team to focus on more future-oriented thinking.

“Probably the number one thing that really changed our company is moving beyond [the JAT] model and teaching people to be leaders. Teaching people to be self-sufficient and understand their job, and having the right people in the right places that can make decisions. If they can’t they seek help. They come to you for your support.” (15:20) - James Waite

Transform Your Business Today

For more stories like James’s, check out other episodes of the?Where There’s a Will There’s a Way podcast, where Will Crist talks with entrepreneurs who have experienced the life-changing effects of the EOS model. For more information on how you can transform your business,?schedule a call with Will today!?