Molly Louthan 1/18/26 Molly Louthan 1/18/26

Why I Came to Traction as an Operator (Not a Founder)

Traction is a business book written by Gino Wickman that outlines the Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS)—a practical framework designed to help leadership teams gain clarity, discipline, and consistent execution. It’s widely used by founders, operators, and leadership teams who want a shared operating system for how decisions are made, priorities are set, and work actually gets done. While often associated with fast-growing startups, I came to Traction from a very different angle: as an operator evaluating whether legacy businesses without modern structure could realistically be transformed.

I didn’t come to Traction because I was overwhelmed, burned out, or searching for motivation.

At the time, I was reviewing nearly twenty businesses a week and speaking with five to ten CEOs who were looking to retire—or simply get out—because they were exhausted. Over and over, I saw the same pattern in these evaluations: founders running companies without systems. Not just outdated technology, but no real structure for how the business ran day to day. Everything was reactive. Everything was firefighting.

I came to Traction because I was trying to understand whether broken businesses were actually fixable.

I was analyzing how to buy and operate legacy companies, businesses that had been around a long time, employed good people, generated real revenue, and yet had absolutely no modern operating system. What I was looking for wasn’t inspiration or mindset shifts. I was looking for a cohesive theory of operations—something I could point to and say: this is why we’re doing things this way, and this is how it all fits together.

Traction kept showing up. Blog after blog, operator after operator—especially those who bought businesses rather than founded them—kept pointing to it as the framework that actually worked in the real world.

What stood out to me immediately was that Traction wasn’t just a list of best practices. It was a system. It had clear building blocks. It showed how vision, people, data, meetings, and execution were meant to connect. For the first time, I could see a step-by-step way to take very old companies and bring them into the twenty-first century without relying on heroics.

That mattered—because what I was seeing inside these businesses was risky.

The following blog series is real world example of implementing Traction in legacy companies. The good, the bad, and the road bumps of transformation.

Molly Louthan

Andrew Means 5/28/19 Andrew Means 5/28/19

Trust & Security: The New Currency of Global Supply Chains

It all begins with an idea.

For years, global supply chains quietly powered businesses in the background. Today, they sit squarely at the center of strategy, risk, and growth.

Disruptions from pandemics, geopolitical tensions, cyber threats, and labor shortages have made one thing clear: supply chains don’t fail because of cost — they fail because of broken trust and weak security.

Why Trust Matters More Than Ever

Supply chains are ultimately built on relationships. Traditionally, trust was created through face-to-face meetings, site visits, and long-standing partnerships. As supply chains have become more digital and distributed, that trust now depends on transparency, shared data, and consistent communication.

When buyers and suppliers operate from the same real-time information — forecasts, inventory levels, delivery timelines — collaboration improves and surprises decrease. Trust becomes operational, not personal.

Security Is No Longer Optional

As data sharing increases, so does risk. Many organizations still rely on spreadsheets and email to exchange critical information, creating vulnerabilities that bad actors (and simple human error) can exploit.

Modern procurement teams are shifting toward:

Secure, integrated platforms instead of fragmented tools
Clear access controls and shared visibility
Supplier assessments that include cybersecurity and compliance

Security isn’t just about protection — it’s about confidence. When partners trust the systems, they trust the relationship.

Procurement’s Expanding Role

Procurement is no longer a back-office function focused solely on price. It now plays a central role in:

Managing supplier risk
Strengthening collaboration across the value chain
Enabling resilience through better data and forecasting
Aligning suppliers with long-term business goals

In many organizations, procurement is becoming the connective tissue between strategy, operations, and technology.

The Competitive Advantage

Companies that invest in trust and security don’t just survive disruptions — they outperform. Transparent, secure supply chains respond faster, recover quicker, and build stronger supplier loyalty.

In a world where disruption is the norm, trust is the differentiator.

Andrew Means 5/28/19 Andrew Means 5/28/19

Blog Post Title Two

It all begins with an idea.

It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more. Or maybe you have a creative project to share with the world. Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.

Don’t worry about sounding professional. Sound like you. There are over 1.5 billion websites out there, but your story is what’s going to separate this one from the rest. If you read the words back and don’t hear your own voice in your head, that’s a good sign you still have more work to do.

Be clear, be confident and don’t overthink it. The beauty of your story is that it’s going to continue to evolve and your site can evolve with it. Your goal should be to make it feel right for right now. Later will take care of itself. It always does.