Julia Langkraehr’s Blog

EOS MEETing Pulse

Guest post: How the Meeting Pulse has helped our business

For this month’s guest post, Michael Cundy, Managing Director of Suttons Tankers, a division of the Suttons Transport Group, has agreed to discuss how the “Meeting Pulse” in EOS has impacted the business.

Suttons Group is an innovative logistics and supply chain company, delivering high quality and cost effective solutions, operating both internationally and in the UK. Our International Division operates in the global multi-modal tank container sector and the Tankers Division, which is my responsibility, concentrates on the UK domestic road tanker market.

The company was founded by Alf Sutton 80 year ago and the business is still family-owned – Alf’s grandson John Sutton is the current CEO.

We’ve been implementing EOS for almost three years now. John was introduced to Julia and after she took us through the system at a 90 minute meeting, we all felt that it would be valuable, so decided to go ahead and implement the system.

Initially the roll-out was limited to the group board, but as we started to understand it more, we could see the benefits it could bring to the wider business and now use it across both operating divisions as well.

One of the key tools of EOS which has made a difference to us is the Meeting Pulse. Before we started, our meetings could be fairly productive, but they lacked the consistency and discipline that EOS brings.

Over time, we have customised the Meeting Pulse, reducing the frequency of the Group Level 10™ to monthly. The weekly L10s of Suttons Tankers and Suttons International remain and we use them to discuss and resolve most key issues and analyse whether the Rocks we have set are on or off track.

In addition the L10 meetings have been cascaded down through the business so each department in the two divisions have their own meetings. This ensures that all areas of the business are focused on achieving the Rocks they have set, contributing to overall business success and productivity.

Read more: How to run a good meeting
What works well in our meetings

We find the segue works really well as a way to change the tempo and get everyone focused on the meeting. Having a tight agenda, sticking to tight time-scales and having a charter on how to behave have all made a huge difference to our productivity and decision-making.

Our meetings are now more consistent, we now have a good routine and we self-police, so that if anyone starts politicking, we call it out and park it.

The IDS section of the meeting is powerful because it allows time to resolve issues that have been on the back-burner or have appeared too challenging. We now get the “Solve” done on those issues, as well as “Identify” and “Discuss”.

A couple of examples of how EOS has contributed to the success of our business includes: we were able to establish a clear structure at one of our operating centres which had been underperforming which is now far more efficient. Secondly, we have restructured some departments in our support functions such as HR and Marketing to be aligned to the two divisions, which is working much more effectively.

As time has gone by, we have got far better at setting smart, meaningful Rocks that will drive the business forward, and the weekly discipline of having to report back on progress really helps keep us all on track.

Between us, we might have 50 or 60 Rocks a quarter, all things that aim to take the business forward, rather than “business as usual” – and that is making a huge difference to every part of Suttons.

Other benefits of EOS

 The EOS tools have been a really big positive for the business, especially the people elements, the People Analyser and GWC (Get it, Want it, Have the Capacity to do it). These have helped us make sure we make the right decisions around the right people for the business, and helped us develop the people we have got, so they stay with us.

I like the structure and the discipline in terms of routine and processes and I like the follow up and review that is built into EOS. Implementing the system has been hugely beneficial for the Suttons Group.

To find out more about the Meeting Pulse, and other tools of EOS, contact us at hello@boldclarity.com.