By Mike Burke on January 10, 2022April 4, 2025 For many independent advisors, as well as other entrepreneurs, the most challenging aspects of day-to-day work are keeping their business running and team working efficiently. Many business owners work long hours without strong returns on their investment of time and money. Some common challenges for entrepreneurs include a lack of control, people who don’t listen or follow through, lack of growth and profit, and a struggle to find long-lasting fixes to recurring problems. At Great Valley Advisor Group’s Valley Advisor Summit (VAST) last month in Austin, Texas, a few of our sessions focused on practice management and how to make your business as efficient and successful as possible. If you feel like you’re working hard and focusing intently on your business but still not achieving the growth you’d like, then it may be time to take a step back and look at your operations more critically. EOS Model The Entrepreneurial Operating System Model is a methodology that can help you and your team simplify, clarify and achieve business goals by highlighting six key components: Vision: The vision for your business is what keeps you and all members of your team aligned and working synergistically toward a common goal. People: A business is only as strong as its people; but as a business leader, you need to define the standards for your team. Data: Determine your specific objectives and how to measure them in order to maintain a constant pulse on the performance of your business. Issues: Identify, discuss and permanently solve the issues your business faces so you’re not trying to solve the same problems over and over, enabling you to focus on new challenges. Process: “Systemize” your operations by identifying the core processes that run and define your business — this is your secret ingredient. Traction: Ensure discipline and accountability are part of your business and enforce your vision. By focusing on these six aspects, business owners can eliminate systemic issues, tackle bigger challenges and achieve further growth. Efficient practice management is key to successfully running a business. EOS Worldwide offers many free tools to help you and your leadership team brainstorm to set goals and define these components, which will help your business excel. It’s important to meet regularly with your leadership team to assess the strides made thus far, challenges you still face and goals you want to achieve in the short term as well as long term. Predictive Index A strong leadership team requires leaders who are self-aware, knowing their strengths and weaknesses. To this end, the VAST conference offered GVA advisors an opportunity to learn from the Predictive Index, a quick online assessment meant to improve self-awareness, employee development, onboarding, team performance and overall business success. The PI assessment measures a person’s level of dominance, extraversion, patience and formality, as well as how predictable their actions within each of these traits are. The results place the entrepreneur in one of 17 categories that outline their personality traits, including what works well in a business/team setting and what doesn’t. Those profiles are split into four categories: analytical, social, stabilizing and persistent. Each profile details needs, behaviors and signature work styles to help business owners understand how their actions affect their team and which work environments they excel in. This customized insight can be a game changer in how you run your business and communicate with your team. As an advisor or business owner, you need to know that the time and money you invest will help achieve your goals and vision. Leveraging the EOS methodology and tools like the Predictive Index can help your business become healthier and more efficient, leading to accelerated growth and success. In turn, your time at work can be more productive, allowing for more personal time and a happier, better balanced life. Mike Burke Manager, Advisor Websites & Marketing After graduating from Penn State University with a B.A. in English, Mike began his career in B2B technology sales, learning how to close deals and, most importantly, developing thick skin. He then took on an operations and management role at a marketing firm, where he recognized a gap in the company’s capabilities and taught himself to design, code, and build websites while handling the day-to-day company operations and managing client relationships. Discovering his passion for design and technology and building up a web design and UX work portfolio, Mike spent the next six years at Comcast, fulfilling various roles on the digital and e-commerce teams, from UX designer to front-end developer to his final role as a Senior Art Director. After transitioning into management consulting, he was on the road for three years, working with enterprise-level companies such as Microsoft, Aon, and Vanguard and expanding his skill set from digital and web to organizational strategy and management. See Full Bio