Will Watrous: The EOS Tools Behind a 28% Profit Jump

Will Watrous  00:00

One year, we experienced tremendous growth, and it was really stressful to the extent that I wound up taking a trip to the hospital. A really great benefit was that net profit went from 6% to 34% so I've absolutely just fell in love with this entire EOS thing, and thankfully, it also created a lot of freedom for me as the owner, I feel like the cat that got the canary. I'm extremely thankful to own a company passively that's very profitable, and then to help them get similar results is quite a privilege.

Debra Chantry-Taylor  00:41

Hello and welcome to another episode of Better Business, Better Life. I'm your host, Debra Chantry-Taylor, and I'm passionate about helping entrepreneurs lead a better life by creating a better business.

Debra Chantry-Taylor  01:00

I started this show several years ago to bring real life experiences of people who've experienced highs and lows and have used the EOS tools to actually turn that around. And so I'm very excited to have today's guest on here, because today's guest came across EOS when he was experiencing a huge amount of stress in his business and his life, and found himself in hospital because of some symptoms, which turned out to be extreme stress. He then turned that business around by using EOS for a mixture of both self implementing initially and then using an EOS implementer. And the biggest change that he saw in that business was going from net profit of 6% to 34% net profit. He is now an EOS implementer himself, and he shares his experiences, and he helps others do the same in their business. He's going to share with you in today's episode, how he came across Eos, how he compared self implementing EOS versus using an EOS implementer. He's then going to share his favourite sort of Eos tools and what he has seen work in other businesses. He's going to talk about some of the business that he's worked with and the joy that he's had and what he's seen them actually achieve, as well as just talking all things, life, the universe and everything. Will Watrous, is an EOS implementer with EOS worldwide, and he is still the owner at structure, a very large marketing agency. So welcome to the show. Will it's lovely to have you here.

Will Watrous  02:24

Thank you, Debra, it's an honour to be with you.

Debra Chantry-Taylor  02:27

You're a fellow EOS implementer like myself, and I know that all of us have got our stories. I think a lot of things I love about EOS is all EOS implementers have got a business background. We've been involved in running businesses before we actually became EOS implementer. And I used, I think you were saying you're about three and a half years into your journey. Can you give us a bit of a an understanding as to how you came across Eos, what you were doing beforehand, how you got to where you are right now?

Will Watrous  02:50

Absolutely So in about 2010 I started a marketing company, and it was just me, just endeavouring to help some a friend out. Actually, I don't have a marketing degree. I never woke up one day saying, hey, it'd be amazing to start a big marketing company. It just was one step at a time, and I was just trying to be faithful with whatever was in my hand, just try to help people with what I had. And so that's a whole nother story, but the company grew and grew and grew and started hiring more and more employees, and one year, we experienced tremendous growth, and it was really stressful, actually on me and the other leaders, to the extent that I started having alarming symptoms show up in my Body and wound up taking a trip to the hospital and spent a night there while they poked and prodded and did all their tests trying to figure out what was going on. And it was ultimately just stress, but it was a wake up call, and I took that as my cue to make some changes. And so after the incident, I just set out on a mission to create a healthier business and a healthier life. And I came across that book traction. You may have heard of it and read it, and it made a lot of sense. And so I hired an implementer. Worked with them for a couple of years, and it was transformational for me, personally and for the company. We continued to grow, morale improved. It went from what felt like herding cats every day to functioning as this high performance team. And a really great benefit was that net profit went from 6% to 34% so I've absolutely just fell in love with this entire EOS thing, and thankfully, it also created a lot of freedom for me as the owner. And so about three and a half years ago, I was able to step away from that company. I have an amazing team running it, a CEO. I meet with him once a month. We run through financials, and I support him. He's. His name is Bruce. He's just an outstanding individual, an outstanding group of people in that company. And I now just am dedicated to helping other entrepreneurs and their teams get what they want out of their businesses. And so I feel like the cat that got the canary. I'm extremely thankful and grateful for what I get to do every day, to own a company passively, first of all, that's very successful, very profitable, that's growing, and then to just take those same set of tools and disciplines and introduce them and coach to each coach, facilitate other teams to help them get similar results, is quite a privilege.

Debra Chantry-Taylor  05:38

Absolutely. I can completely relate. I've been an EOS implementer now for coming for six years, and I was using some of the principles in my business, but really didn't have a true appreciation of how simple it was, but how effective it could be, until I really got more deep into it. So tell me about the traction book you picked it up. Did you find it an easy read? And what was it about it that sort of struck you and went, I need this.

Will Watrous  06:01

Well, you know, when the student is ready to let it, the teacher arrives, they say, and then also it has to do with pain. I mean, every all of us have a pain tolerance, and at some point, we'll say, enough is enough, yep. And we'll decide to do whatever it takes to make things be different than they are. And so I suppose I hit that point, and I honestly, my body hit that point. You know, I think there wasn't a singular event in time that said that everything came crashing down in one day, but my body was keeping score, and just the stress day in, day out, this silent, sneaky kind of thing, and then all of a sudden, wham, it just hit and and so that that was a scary experience, but that was enough pain for me to decide to make a change. But in reading the book, you'll understand this immediately. I'm a Colby 3394, and so the Colby index nine, the nine number means I'm a quick start. In other words, I have a high tolerance for risk. I don't need a lot of details. I just need the bare bones facts, and then I'm ready to make a decision and go for it, and we can iterate down the road well. So needless to say, as it comes to reading books, I probably skim most of the book and just find the few nuggets. And okay, yep, there's enough in here for me to make this make sense. So, yeah. And so I it made, I mean, the book at face value has so much to offer. And I in, I actually, before I hired the implementer, I actually did try to self implement to use a few of the tools. And it's hard. You don't know what you don't know, and you take a shot at it, but there's a whole world, as you know, there's a whole world to this and and the tools are helpful for someone just sitting down, reading the book and putting them into use, but in the right context, with the right teacher, with someone who can really push and pull and help dig things out, there's A big difference. So, so when I hired the implementer, they I realised, oh, okay, that's why this wasn't really working. And a lot of it had to do.

Debra Chantry-Taylor  08:09

Hey, the reason I ask is I obviously picked up you that you were the visionary in the business. And it's funny, I'm a nine Quick Start as well. So I actually found the traction book a little bit tough to read, because, yeah, I'm a bit like you. I tend to to skim read. And it was, it was quite in depth. I actually read Get a grip first, and I found that get a grip gave me a story, and I could relate really well to the story. And then I went back to traction after that, and sort of then it made a lot more sense. But I suppose what I was asking because you said you were very stressed, so it's quite interesting that you actually made time to to read that book given, because when we're in a stressed environment, we can often be just so caught up in it that we can't even take time out.

Will Watrous  08:47

You know, I have to give a lot of credit to Bruce, my right hand man, as it were, and he is just a fantastic individual. He's smart, level headed, a thinker, and so he was instrumental in me even moving forward and moving the needle at all with EOS. I think having that counterpart, if you think about rocket fuel, the visionary and the integrator, is definitely that integrator strength. And so having him made all the difference. If it were just me, I don't know that we'd be talking today. I don't think I would have made it this far. Journey.

Debra Chantry-Taylor  09:23

It's funny, is that rocket fuel talks about that missing puzzle piece, and at the integrator, I don't know if you've seen this with your clients, but I know that the clients that I work with, it usually is the missing piece. And if they don't have that really important role, it's very, very hard for them to actually let go and to be able to elevate themselves into the role that they need to be doing absolutely so tell me you said you were self implemented and explore a bit further with your company. First, I'm going to talk about some of your clients that you've worked with, but in terms of self implementing, where did you start? Because I find a lot of self implementers, they rush into the VTO and as a visionary, they love to put the VTO together, but they don't. Necessarily use some of the other more important tools, like the accountability chart and those bits and pieces. I'm wondering, what did you do when you were self implementing.

Will Watrous  10:07

You nailed it. That is exactly what I did, is whipped out there and just started filling in the blanks by myself. You know me in my office, just coming up with all of the answers. Oh, this sounds good, and putting it down and checking the box, and that has some value, but not a lot, compared to doing it with a team, to doing it in the proper context, and really understanding how all the pieces come together and in a proper sequence. So you're right, and what's really funny is that you mentioned the accountability chart, and it was one of the most profound changes for the organisation when Bruce and I got really crystal clear on who was doing what, between him and I, but then throughout the organisation, that really helped the whole company just really break through, and me particularly able to reduce a lot of The stress, a lot of the anxiety knowing that I was able to handle off hand off roles to competent people, and focus in on what I should and could be doing.

Debra Chantry-Taylor  11:11

I think it really is the fundamental tool, I must say, with a lot of the self inventors I've worked with, the VTO is the easy one that they kind of gravitate towards as a visionary and then sometimes the level 10 or some version of a level 10 meeting, but most of them, even if they've been self implementing for years, have not actually done the accountability chart. And without that accountability chart, it's really hard to fit all the other pieces of Eos together and make it work.

Will Watrous  11:36

Absolutely, absolutely.

Debra Chantry-Taylor  11:39

So you bit the bullet and you said, right, we're gonna we've done enough of this on our own, and now we're gonna go and now we're gonna go and get ourselves an implementer to help us on this journey. What do you think was the biggest value you got from working with an implementer yourself?

Will Watrous  11:50

I think someone who had done it and worked with Eos, just the experience factor, just having worked with multiple companies and bringing in the context of other businesses, because I only knew my world. I only had experience in my own business. I had a job before, but not nothing like running my own company. And so someone who had working with someone who had worked in other companies and implemented EOS in those companies brought a level of depth and perspective that I and frankly, a level of belief, of faith, of hope, and seeing the potential and what and helping us see what was possible was extremely valuable.

Debra Chantry-Taylor  12:36

I think it's a little bit like a sports coach, isn't it? I mean somebody who's actually on the sidelines, who's looking out from an outsider's perspective, and has done that with multiple other businesses, is able to ask the right questions. So it's not about telling you what to do, but if you have that experience, you can tease out the right answers by asking the right questions.

12:56

Absolutely, yep.

Debra Chantry-Taylor  12:59

And so obviously it changed your world and changed your business, and now you've got a business that can run without you, which is absolutely fantastic. What was the tipping point for you to become an EOS implementer yourself?

Will Watrous  13:10

You know, being a quick start. I It happened quickly. Let's just say that I I don't know how I think I either received an email from EOS worldwide, or I happened to be on their website, and there was a link, you know, become an implementer or something like that. And I started looking into it, and just for like, a day or two, and then I happened to go home one day and I said, Hey, sweetie, what if I did EOS as you know, what if I had already there was space for me. In other words, the company was now not absorbing nearly as much time and energy as it had been. And so I came home and I said, What do you think about i What if I were an us implementer, and what if I helped other companies do that? And my wife, Jenny, is an amazing lady and a wonderful help. And she said, that sounds great, you know, she just sounds cool. And just that instant affirmation of, yeah, that would be neat. You could do it. We could do it. Let's check it out. And so I had a conversation with Julie diamond, I believe, at the time, and and then spoke with a couple of other, you know, the expert implementers, who kind of interview you along the way and decided to pull the trigger and haven't looked back.

Debra Chantry-Taylor  14:27

Yeah, it's funny, as I said, I'm a nine Quick Start, too, and I actually came across EOS because they launched into New Zealand using my event space, and I couldn't attend the launch. I was busy with a client on that day, and so they left a couple of books for me. As I said, I struggled with traction, but really gotten to get really gotten to get a grip and then read traction, and then within one month, I was on the journey of becoming an EOS implementer. Quick, very quick to get into it. And again, never looked back. Okay, so favourite tool? Do you have a favourite EOS tool that you see with your clients? Really, sort of makes a huge. Difference, or gives them an AHA light bulb moment in their business.

Will Watrous  15:04

I really love it. It's part of the VTO, but it's the three year picture, so it may not fit your definition of a tool. It's just really a portion. But I love the energy that the three year picture brings, because we've done the 10 year target, and we've, you know, looked the way down the road, and now we start bringing it closer, and three years is far away enough to brain. Your brain can kind of disconnect. It's not next month what you can see that far, but three years is far enough down the road that it's a little break with your current reality. So people kind of let down their guard a little bit and increase their hope a little bit for some, and they're more open to things being pretty dramatically different than they are today. And so I just love the three year picture exercise initially, when we first go through that, and even afterward, when I we read it together, and they close their eyes and they picture it in their mind's eye, it's very energising to the room. They it's worth fighting for. It's something that they truly want, and they can see it. And so I love the energy that brings that's not a tool, no.

Debra Chantry-Taylor  16:11

I think it actually is a tool, because I would agree with you, I think it's fascinating. And you know, when you get them to close their eyes and get them to imagine it, the little smiles that you see come on the faces and that yet he said the energy in the room just completely changes. And I hadn't really thought about it from the way you just described it, but I suppose that, yes, it is. It's far enough out that you're not restricted by what's going on today, and you're able to sort of dream and think a little bit, and some of the things that have come out of them have been fascinating. So I was working with a client just recently who has a big manufacturing plant, and because it's a big manufacturing plant, it's in the middle of nowhere, because they have to have the land to do that. And so as a consequence, the people working in that business, when they go into work, they're there for the whole day, and then they can't go anywhere. There's nowhere to have lunch there. And so when we were talking about their three year picture the first time round, they wanted to, you know, somebody who actually be able to cook the meals for them while they was there. But then one of them said, it would be really cool if we had a go kart track, and the owner went, that's fabulous because, you know, from an owner's point of view, he also liked cars, but it meant that it would give it a more fun environment for these people to actually come to work. And so yes, on their three year picture, now, there was a chef and a go kart track. See absolutely and it's that level of, you know, being able to explore things being quite different to what they are today, without losing the focus of what we're trying to achieve. Yeah, 100% Yeah. Okay, great. And so in terms of your three year journey within Eos, have you got any client stories, you know, without giving away, obviously, specifics or any secret sauce, but any client journeys that you've been really proud of that, you know, it's that sort of, that beautiful moment where your heart sings again. That's we did.

Will Watrous  17:44

I'm working with a team right now that is just crushing it. They are just they're so committed, they're so fired up. They are fully engaged in EOS and in the process. And a funny, quick story, we had vision building day one, where we set their first, excuse me this. We were in focus day. We set their first set of rock that are due at Vision building day 260, days later, approximately, and I'm not sure what happened. I'm pretty sure I said the right thing. But we got to vision building day one, so just 30 days later, after focus day, and they came in and they said, Wow, that was a tonne of work, but we did it. We got all our rocks done. He said, Wait, what those are different, till focusing. I mean television really, too. And they said, Wait, what we thought they were due today. And so it just that's representative, I think of just their ambition and drive as well. And I don't know where the miscommunication happened, but they continue to embrace it completely, wholeheartedly, and they're working really hard. They have a great company, and it shows they're just they're crushing their numbers, the Morales, just keeps going up and up and embracing core values. They're doing everything right. And it's a great feeling to watch a team like that, who's really committed and hardworking to experience the success they deserve. Yeah,

Debra Chantry-Taylor  19:10

and I think you make a really valid point there. I think some people number of different clients over the last six years, you know, some people really put the work in, and they absolutely achieve the results. Others have been looking more for kind of magic silver bullet, and EOS isn't a magic silver bullet. It does require the hard work. It does require the commitment. It requires a consistency. It's that laser sharp focus, so it's not for everybody. Is what I'm trying to say is that you have to actually want to do it, and you have to be prepared to make changes, because you can't keep doing the same thing over and over again and get expect to get different results.

Will Watrous  19:42

It's a lot of work.

Debra Chantry-Taylor  19:43

but it's amazing. So they achieved their rocks in 30 days. That must be a stopper format. I'd be really keen to see how they go with the rest of them. You know, given they've now got 90 days to get them done. Yes, yeah, it is interesting. You mentioned in the beginning that, you know, for your business particularly, it really drove. The net profit of the business. And I actually do an exercise every 12 months where I review all of my clients who have followed the EOS process purely for the 12 months, and we look at where they came from and where they're now at. And the results this year have been phenomenal, which is quite unusual given we're in the middle of quite a serious economic downturn in New Zealand and in Melbourne, where I work. But on average, you know, people boosted their revenue by about 35% which is lovely top line. That's great, but the average profit this year, like profit boostage, was 64.9% I know, and it blew my mind. It's like, wow, how does that happen? And what it really is just that laser, sharp focus on the things that are important. That's what EOS gives you, is that clarity around what you need to do, right?

Will Watrous  20:43

Yes, it's interesting. I was just at QCE in Detroit, just yesterday.

Debra Chantry-Taylor  20:49

Actually, okay, we've got ads coming up on the fifth of September or fourth of September.

Will Watrous  20:53

Yeah, it was excellent. And we did a deep dive on the eight cash flow drivers. And what I really loved about it is they set the context that this is not an accounting tool. This is a leadership tool, and specifically, this is a leadership tool that helps you lead with confidence and clarity, because you know the most important levers in the business, and you know what they should be doing, and when a leadership team has their eye on the right levers, the cash flow drivers, whatever they are for those for that business, and they are passionate and disciplined and determined to make sure that they're making adjustments in the right direction the profit follows every time.

Debra Chantry-Taylor  21:39

Absolutely is one of my favourite tools in terms of, I think often the financial side of the business is sort of, oh, we just leave that to the CFO, or we leave it to the accountant. We leave it to the bookie, whatever it might be. And this really starts to bring the whole team on the journey. And I've had teams who've then taken it and obviously rolled it out to the rest of the organisation, starting to give some financial education. And once you've got a team who understands not only how the business makes money, but why it's important and what it means for the greater good. It just changes the way a business operates.

Will Watrous  22:09

Yes, bringing awareness to the team. And you know, in us, we teach that the leadership team needs to obsess about cash flow and profitability a good obsess with it. And there's some nuances to I found myself encouraging leadership teams and specifically owners in how they think about profit, because sometimes that's a sensitive issue. Many people, many employees, think that. Well, I usually say half the company thinks that half the revenue is going straight into the owner's pocket. But then even on a leadership team, it can get sensitive. A $50 million company, there's millions of dollars in profit. And so I found myself encouraging teams lately to make sure they are thinking correctly about what profit really is, because it is how you build infrastructure. It is how you make key hires. It is how you weather storms. It is how you are prepared for rainy days, as it were, and understand that, yes, a chunk of that will go into the owner's pocket, and it should, because at the end of the day, it's their social security number that's tied to this whole thing, and if it all goes south, they're the one going to jail. You have to get another job. And I'm not belittling the fact that you'll have to get another job. That's a lot, but it's a whole different game when it's your social security in the IRS. And so I want teams to understand that, yes, a chunk of the profit does go in the owner's pocket, as it should, but a lot of that is operating reserve. It's how it fuels the growth of the company and helps you continual, continually march on toward where you want to go. So I think sometimes people think of the word profit as a kind of this icky or evil thing, and so I've been helping teams to frame it, I think, more correctly. And that's it helps the owner feel more relaxed and confident about it, and helps the whole team go, oh, okay, this is really a driver of how we accomplished our purpose as an organisation.

Debra Chantry-Taylor  24:13

And again, I mean, if you think with a company is doing well and is profitable, it also creates a nicer and better environment for the employees as well, because we have the opportunity to take advantage of opportunities, the opportunity to create a nicer work environment, the opportunity to share in the profits through incentive schemes and things. But if you're not making money, it's not a fun time.

Will Watrous  24:34

Absolutely it's yes, better benefits, better competitive pay, a nicer environment, and really the peace of mind knowing that this company is going to be around, that you're going to have a job next month and next year, because the company is being successful in generating a profit.

Debra Chantry-Taylor  24:52

And I think in gino's book, you know, the EOS life, he talks about that 10 year cycle of business, and it's something that often 10. Always forget is that there'll be, you know, there'll always be a couple of fantastic years, there'll be around about six kind of good years, but there's always a couple of years that could potentially completely take you out of the game. And so it's important that the business is prepared for those down times and able to do it. And I think that it can be forgotten when we're in the great times and everything is going really well, that we're going to go through this cycle every 10 years, and something's going to happen that will, you that will create some issues,

Will Watrous  25:24

and the smart ones will be prepared for that. You know, I forget who said it, the big, famous investor guy, but he said, you know, everyone looks good while the tide is up, but when the tide goes out, you see, who doesn't he's not wearing any shorts.

Debra Chantry-Taylor  25:37

Have some something along that line, okay, in terms of your team in your own business, because as a visionary, we can see the benefits for you. You were able to let go, you were able to sort of have more time for yourself. What do you think the benefits were for your team when you brought EOS to the business?

Will Watrous  25:53

Well, just like we describe in the 90 minute meeting when we do that initial presentation for prospects, we say that when a visionary is stuck in the integrator seat, you'll experience a lot of 90 day spikes, and then chaos will ensue. And that's certainly what was happening, because I would find a new shiny object and say, Hey everybody, we're going to do this. And there'd be a whole bunch of energy in this direction. And then at some point, not long after that, I would get tired of it and then find something else to entertain me. And so Bruce and I, we work well together, but there was definitely the tension there of like, Wait, I thought you said this was important. Wait. I thought we were going this direction and I would be continually. So EOS got us all agreed and aligned with a single vision and plan for the organisation that protects against shiny object syndrome or other opportunities might happen to pop up helped us become much more focused and disciplined in staying on task with what we knew we needed to do.

Debra Chantry-Taylor  26:54

Yeah, I think that's absolutely true. The organisation whiplash that comes from us beautiful evolutionaries who get distracted by bright, shiny object. I actually think, I don't know about you, I do believe that being so I'm actually one of the few people who scores very highly on both visionary integrated but my natural tendency is towards visionary without a doubt. But I have, I'm the very, very high 80s on both of them, so I can do either or. I do believe that that being a visionary at heart helps when you're an EOS implementer, because you actually understand the founder and you understand where they're coming from, and you've been there and you've felt the pain that they are feeling. Therefore you could have a lot more empathy, as well as be able to share some of those experiences as well. Do you find the same yourself?

Will Watrous  27:35

Absolutely, and I've come to appreciate more and more visionaries and founders and owners because of that entrepreneurial spark. It's not belittling anyone else. The world needs visionaries. They're the ones who see what's possible. They see the potential in things, and they take a step. They take that leap of faith. And without those in the world, where would we be? Many of the things that we enjoy in the world are there because of a visionary, of someone who had a bright idea and the courage to take a step and go after it. So I have a deep appreciation for visionaries, and I just love their gift, the gift that they are. And absolutely I do can spot them a mile away, and so can you and I just laugh, because I get it. I totally know what they're going through and how their mind thinks and their struggles and their frustrations, and so in the session room, being a visionary myself, I have to temper myself, even, let's say, if we're solving issues and I'm just trying to help nudge them, I have to right see the integrator, those engineer types of the high fact finders, who've got to really get all the details, and I have to hold myself back and consider and empathise with them as well. But it's more work for sure. I'm more in line with the thinking of the visionary.

Debra Chantry-Taylor  29:00

Yeah, yeah, because you're a three Fact Finder as well, aren't you? So I'm a little bit higher on the fact finder scale, so six for me. But yeah, it can be tempting to want to sort of jump in and give the answers, or try and speed the process up. You know, come on, guys, have others.

Will Watrous  29:14

Yep, yep. Okay.

Debra Chantry-Taylor  29:17

So I the reason I started this podcast was obviously to share how people can create a better life by through creating a better business. And I always ask the guests to share three kind of top tips or tools that somebody can who's listening and can go away with and actually start to implement in their life, in their business, to help them get that better business, better life. What would you say your three top tips or tools are?

Will Watrous  29:40

Well, let the first one is a tool we use within EOS called the clarity break. It's such a powerful, powerful tool, and the clarity break, in a nutshell is you just getting away, shutting off your phone, your devices, your distractions, pull out a legal pad and a pen and see just. Sit and think. There's few things as precious as pure thought, as pure thinking time, and so much insight, so much understanding, so much wisdom can come, will flow to you if you'll just simply sit down and start writing, whatever the situation or the challenge, the opportunity, if you'll just have some pure thinking time. You'll find yourself miles down the road from where you were, compared to if you were to just kind of continue to go blustering about your day and all of this busyness and all that, you must have some time to just simply think about your life, your opportunities, your challenges, whatever they are.

Debra Chantry-Taylor  30:40

Before you move on. I will just say I've managed to find a way to get two things combined into one, because obviously clarity break you should not be doing anything else. However, at my gym we have a hyperbaric oxygen chamber, which you can go and sit within for 90 minutes, and in that 90 minutes there is, first of all, it's pressurised, so you can't take anything but a notepad and pen in with you, and so no no distractions, no devices, and 90 minutes of being fed 200% pure oxygen in a pressurised environment with just a notepad and pen is a great way to get your clarity break and get your oxygen.

Will Watrous  31:12

That's a win. Win. I love it. The second tool, if you will, is just more of a concept. And actually the second two. Two and three are concepts. The second one is, there's a book called work the system, by Sam Carpenter, and in that book, he describes how that your business is nothing more than a dispassionate collection of systems. And such is our business, such as our lives. And so often we pay a lot of attention to what's going on above the surface, but rarely do we get down beneath the surface, where all of the mechanics of our life, all of the things that are actually driving the results that we're experiencing are up all like down in the basement, the equipment of our lives is kind of like down in the basement. And so it's in a nutshell, it's cause and effect, but it's understanding that everything you're experiencing is simply a result of something else. And so what is that something else? And so spend a little time digging in and asking yourself, Why am I getting this result? Why is this happening? What's truly going on here? Someone said, I don't know who, but I'll steal it, because I've said it so many times now, but the quality of your life is a result of the quality of the questions you ask yourself. So ask yourself those really meaningful, strong, profound questions, and get real and brutally honest and be willing to go there, because that where the growth happens. That's where you can make changes to the systems that are delivering the results that you're experiencing, whatever area of a life or business that it is. So that's number two. Number three is another concept, and it's a belief that everything that you need is within reach. It's within arm's length of you. So often we are striving, grasping, reaching, always thinking that things are so far out there beyond, and we just have to get there. But I would encourage listeners to consider the fact that whatever you need is within reach, and whether that's a relationship, whether that's a resource, whether that's wisdom and knowledge and understanding. You know, I said earlier, when the student is ready, the teacher will appear. Everything you need in life to be successful is within arm's reach. You just have to start looking around, and that means asking maybe people for help, or just having a clarity break and thinking, Oh, wait, I could do this. Oh, I could pull these things together. It's just a mindset that what you need is available. All of the ingredients to bake, whatever you need to bake, are right there in front of you. You just have to take time to look.

Debra Chantry-Taylor  34:14

Does that make sense? It does make perfect sense. And I think it's also about jumping off the hamster wheel, or always chasing the sort of the big thing, and realising that being present, there's so much opportunity and so many people who are very willing to help, if you actually ask for help. But I think sometimes it's hard. It's hard for people to ask for help. It feels like it might be a failure, whereas I always turn it on its head and say, hey, you know, when you help somebody, how does it make you feel? And the person comes home, I feel great when I help somebody. I said, so why would you rip people off by not asking them for help when you need it? Because you could make them feel great.

Will Watrous  34:45

I agree completely, and the Bible says it's more blessed to give than to receive. Everyone loves helping when they can. And so you're right. You're spot on. If you need help, you'd be surprised how many people would. To bend over backward, to do anything they can to help.

Debra Chantry-Taylor  35:03

Absolutely. No, that's great. Hey, three very lovely, beautiful tips there. Tell me a bit about before we finish up. Tell me about your practice so you're based in remind me again where you're based, Tulsa, Oklahoma, Oklahoma, yeah. And what are the clients that you really love working with? What does the ideal client look like for you?

Will Watrous  35:20

My ideal clients are hard working. They are, and I'm speaking more specifically than our typical EOS. You know, 10 to 250 employees, two to $50 million in revenue, typically, but hard working and growth oriented and and I would say that we say this at us, but it's particularly true. It just resonates so much. I've seen again and again with different teams is willing to be open and honest and vulnerable with themselves and the people that are around them. If that's not there, it's really hard. It's tough sledding. We can get there, but it's a longer road when the team is not willing to be open and honest and vulnerable. So other than that, I've worked with all kinds of different industries, all different sizes of teams, but the ones I really enjoy working with are the ones who want to win. They are hardworking, and they want to win. It's not just a job. They're not just showing up. They actually realise, wait a second, we're going somewhere. We can do something here. And they're hungry for that.

Debra Chantry-Taylor  36:23

I completely agree. It's such a joy to kind of be on that journey with them and to see them, you know, understand the rules of the game, take advantage of it and really win at what they're doing. And great. So well, if they want to get hold of you, how? What's the best way to get hold of you?

Will Watrous  36:39

Oh, I suppose LinkedIn. Just find me on LinkedIn. Maybe it'll be in the show notes or something, yeah, or the EOS worldwide website will be on there too. Yeah.

Debra Chantry-Taylor  36:46

Fantastic. Hey, look, thank you so much for coming on the show with me. I've really enjoyed getting to know you and to hear a little about your own journey. It's always great to hear how EOS implementers their own journey with EOS before they become an implementer. So thank you for sharing that, and also sharing your favourite tips, tools and EOS stuff.

Will Watrous  37:03

Really appreciate it. Happy to do it. Debra, I was glad to spend a little time with you today.

Debra Chantry-Taylor  37:07

Thank you very much Will.