What is a V/TO and Why Does Your Home Care Agency Need One?

 Getting on the right track and successfully achieving your goals can quickly cause a headache if you don’t have a solid plan in place. Here’s how a V/TO can help. 

Getting your home care agency on the right track and successfully achieving your goals can quickly cause a headache if you don’t have a solid plan in place. It takes time, energy, and a lot of delegation – but there are tools out there that can help.

Gino Wickman, Founder of the Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS), started his entrepreneurial journey at the age of 21. After years of work, and collaboration with members of the “Entrepreneurs’ Organization,” he decided to create a system that would “help organizational leadership teams get what they want out of their businesses.”

In fact, EOS was actually built for busy entrepreneurs, like yourself, to get a better grasp on the challenges within their business while focusing on specific goals and resolutions to solve each.

While it’s easy to set goals for your agency, it really comes down to having a strategic plan in place to actually make those goals a reality. This is where the Vision-Traction Organizer (V/TO) of EOS comes into play.

A VT/O is simply a document used by organizations to help simplify their strategic plan and align the company more.

At Activated Insights, we’ve been using the EOS V/TO since 2018 and have nothing but great things to say about it. It’s helped to keep our organization intact and employees on track. Here’s what some of our team members have had to say:

“Establishing a V/TO and sharing it with everyone has helped our teams get deeper alignment. Great things happen when you everyone is in the same boat and rowing in the same direction. ” – Tyler Guthrie

“A V/TO has helped us to establish an extra layer of transparency. It’s truly helped me, and everyone on the team feel like they’re a part of a bigger goal (almost like putting a man on the moon).” -Kaylee Hatch

Needless to say, implementing a V/TO is critical for clarity in your agency, but it’s no small task. Let’s talk about why you need one and how you can build it out.

What is a V/TO?

A V/TO or Vision Traction Organizer is a tool used across all types of organizations and industries to better refine goals, strategy, vision, etc.

Vision and traction go hand-in-hand with each other and without either, or only one or the other, you might be creating some serious hurdles for your home care agency.

According to the Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS), “The Vision/Traction Organizer™ (V/TO) is a powerful tool to help you simplify the strategic planning process, getting your vision out of your head and onto paper.” Not only that, but it also helps you answer and break down eight questions to crystalize where your organization is headed.

By completing this two-page document for your home care agency, you’ll likely find that you can solve a lot of short- and long-term problems. It gives your agency an identity and helps every employee to align their mindset with the greater purpose of the organization.

Why it matters for your agency

Implementing the use of a V/TO into the daily operations of your home care agency will open up a lot of doors for discussion and provide better alignment company-wide.

With this high-level overview, everyone in your organization will know their roles, the company, and the plan moving forward inside and out.

“A vision without a plan is a pipe dream.” – Brian P. Moran

It’s important to remember that you should be reviewing your V/TO as a team at least once every 90 days, if not more. By sticking to a firm schedule like this, you’ll notice any inconsistencies in your vision and how well you are doing in executing it, but even more so, you can refine your goals and drill down on what’s working and what’s not. We’ve found that the more you talk about something as an internal team, the more likely you are to achieve those goals over time.

You always want your team to be on the same page, so if there is any confusion, don’t wait any longer to schedule a meeting or discussion about it.

The components of a V/TO

The V/TO is broken down into two parts: vision and traction. Within each section, there are a few key components that will help you organize your thoughts and dive deeper into the specifics. Let’s take a closer look.

Vision

The vision aspect of your V/TO document is a great tool used to help organizations look into the future. It keeps everyone in your company aware of where your company is headed and the steps you plan to take to get there.

Traction

After the vision of your agency is defined, you need to be able to live it out. This is why traction is important. Traction instills focus, discipline, and accountability so that every action and step taken is executing on the vision. Traction is focused on the short-term steps you’re taking.

Keeping your agency on track

By identifying all of our goals and processes ahead of time, staying on track will be easier than ever. There’s only so much you can keep a mental note of and using a V/TO will eliminate that need entirely.

If you’re interested in getting started with a V/TO, download this PDF to get started. You can also use an electronic version that is shared amongst your organization with tools like Ninety.

Have you implemented a V/TO at your home care agency? What have you found to be the most beneficial? Let us know in the comments.