In the second episode of the Business Operating Systems series, host Charlie Malouf continues his conversation with Carl Hillesland and Stacey McCormick. Carl and Stacey reveal the origin story of Mr. Mo ("More Right, More Often"), the Retail Performance team's customized Operating System built on the chassis of EOS (Entrepreneurial Operating System). Not only is "MR MO" an acronym for More Right More Often, the "MO" denotes shorthand for "Momentum" as Mr. Mo provides a catalyst for achieving Momentum.
Mr. Mo is not pure EOS as it integrates elements that are specific to the Retail Performance team and to Broad River. Carl and Stacey unpack the ways that Mr. Mo is different from EOS and how they have really tailored Mr. Mo to the culture and purpose within Broad River Retail.
In sharing about previous attempts to launch a business operating system within Broad River Retail, Charlie jokingly shares the name of the Operations Department's acronym for their attempted Operating System from several years ago that they infamously named BROS (Broad River Operating System).
Carl and Stacey discuss their recollections from the launch date of Mr. Mo on October 26, 2021, and the chaos that ensued on that particular day. They examine how the team had to shift from a top-down "download culture" to a more empowering "bottoms up culture." They discuss overcoming resistance to change, building trust, and fostering peer-to-peer accountability.
They discuss the steps taken to go from ideation to the launch of Mr. Mo. Charlie also asks Carl and Stacey to share what they got right with the introduction of Mr. Mo as well as what they got wrong and would have done differently with the benefit of hindsight. The episode reflects on the implementation challenges and successes with a candid acknowledgment of the learning curve and the potential to have accelerated the process. Carl and Stacey share what each of them would have done differently in introducing and launching Mr. Mo to the Retail Performance department.
They also share what advice they would offer to others who are attempting to launch an operating system within their company.
A few takeaways and memorable statements from this episode:
- It's not about perfection; it's about direction.
- Assume positive intent.
- Catch people doing things rights while having them trip over the truth.
- Slow is smooth; smooth is speed.
Watch the first episode of the series ("A Primer on Business Operating Systems") here: https://youtu.be/VRQNLtuOsQY
This episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/yuHenu3l51U
We hope you enjoy this episode and subscribe to our podcast for a new story each week.
Visit https://www.storiesfromtheriver.com for more episodes.
