Management consultants, strategy advisers, organizational development specialists, and leadership coaches often face a common challenge: over-customizing solutions for small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs). While tailoring solutions feels like the right approach, it can lead to burnout, inefficiency, and missed opportunities for scalability.

As a business owner, you’ve likely heard of, if not leveraged, the Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS) to bring clarity and discipline to your company, driving impressive results in its early growth. With its six key components—Vision, People, Data, Issues, Process, and Traction—EOS is a powerful framework for small businesses, particularly in the early stages of growth.

However, as your business scales beyond 20-50 employees, the simplicity of EOS can start to feel limiting, especially in the critical transition of Stages 3 (Delegation) and 4 (Professional) of The ReWild Group’s Seven Stages of Growth.

The ReWild Group’s Organizational ReWilding framework and the Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS) both aim to empower businesses to achieve clarity, alignment, and growth, but they differ significantly in their approach and long-term applicability.

In 2024, the global workplace faced a sobering reality: employee engagement dropped from 23% to 21%, costing the world economy an estimated $438 billion in lost productivity, according to Gallup’s State of the Global Workplace 2025 Report. The primary culprit? Managers. Manager engagement fell sharply from 30% to 27%, while individual contributor engagement remained stagnant at 18%. This decline is not just a statistic—it’s a warning signal for organizations worldwide.

As a small business owner, transforming your operations can feel daunting, especially with a complex framework. Organizational ReWilding offers a solution with its 11 Elements of an Exceptional Business, designed to foster growth, resilience, and adaptability. Its comprehensive scope and flexible, staged approach mean you can see results without tackling all 11 Elements at once—a practical approach for businesses of any size.

The Thinking-Doing Sequence, a core component of the Organizational ReWilding framework, highlights a key distinction in the type of work an owner or leader undertakes within their organization. At its essence, this difference is encapsulated by the concept of working on versus working in the business. As depicted in the Thinking-Doing Sequence graphic below, working on the business aligns with the left side of the continuum—emphasizing critical thinking and strategy, where leaders focus on big-picture elements.

For small business owners, freedom is often a distant aspiration. The relentless demands of daily operations—handling customer inquiries, managing inventory, or troubleshooting issues—can trap owners in a cycle of working in their business, leaving little time for strategic growth or personal pursuits. True freedom means having the ability to step back, focus on high-level goals, and trust that the business runs smoothly without constant oversight.

Business resilience strategies are essential for navigating today’s complex and ever-changing market. Organizational ReWilding, offered by The ReWild Group, provides a proven framework to help businesses overcome obstacles and achieve sustainable growth.

Entrepreneurship is a thrilling journey, but it’s rarely a smooth one. From cash flow hiccups to team dynamics to market shifts, challenges are part of the deal. What sets successful entrepreneurs apart is their ability to master the art of problem-solving. At The ReWild Group, we believe that effective problem-solving isn’t just about putting out fires—it’s about driving innovation and building a resilient business.

In the fast-paced world of running a small or mid-sized business, it’s easy to get caught up in the daily grind—putting out fires, chasing deadlines, and juggling endless priorities. But there’s one often-overlooked ingredient that can make or break your company’s path to success: accountability.

Frameworks are useful because they provide a structured foundation for building and organizing projects, whether in software development, project management, or other fields. They save time by offering pre-built tools, libraries, or guidelines that handle common tasks, so you don’t have to start from scratch. This consistency reduces errors and makes collaboration easier, as everyone works within the same system.

While no two businesses are exactly alike, they tend to face common challenges. Our extensive research has shown that, regardless of industry or revenue, small and mid-size business owners often encounter similar obstacles based on the number of employees in the company.

These are some of the common challenges that can hinder their growth or lead to stagnation:

The ReWild Group offers a comprehensive framework known as Organizational ReWilding to assist business owners in effectively working on their businesses. This methodology is grounded in decades of research involving over 1,500 small and midsize enterprises (SMEs) and provides a structured approach to business growth and development.

At The ReWild Group, we believe in the importance of working on your business. Spending time working on the business, rather than solely in the business, is crucial for long-term success. Here are eight reasons why.

Discover how Mike Walraven transformed Syncroness through The Exceptional Manager Program (EMP), a comprehensive leadership development initiative. By identifying key pain points and fostering an ownership mindset, Walraven aligned his team for unprecedented growth and success. Learn more about how the EMP can elevate your leadership team.

Many business owners are familiar with the concept of peer groups—regularly scheduled meetings with other CEOs or business leaders to share perspectives, get new insights, and learn tips and strategies that will help their business thrive.

While there are a lot of positives to this type of experience, we’ve also found there to be some negatives.

The Stage 7 leader is tasked with reigniting the entrepreneurial spirit that characterized the organization in earlier Stages. They achieve this through creating a compelling vision, one that is shared amongst the Leadership Team and clearly communicated to the entire organization. In contrast to the previous Stage, where the leader guided the Leadership Team in creating the vision for the future, the leader is now collaborating with the Leadership Team to create that vision.

Whether you are a first-time project manager or a veteran, the Project Management Triangle is a critical concept in successfully managing a project.

The Project Management Triangle is made up of the three basic dimensions of a project—Time, Scope, and Resources (which can also be thought of as the Cost of the project).

The common misalignment in this Stage comes from a leader who wants to maintain a higher allocation to the Manager or Specialist Faces, not wanting to give up operational oversight, which can result in a frustrated Leadership Team that wants to take on more responsibility. 

We recently posted about a manager’s role as both Coach and Supervisor. Today, we’re going to delve into the topic of problem solving, a task consistently required of every manager.

Regardless of the industry or area of focus, managers are responsible for the output of their team and serve as a resource when obstacles arise. Although not every manager is naturally a good problem solver, there are techniques that can be learned to improve anyone’s problem-solving skills.