Measure & Manage with New EOS Processes

“A vision, without a plan, is just a hallucination,” said Will Rogers. Fortunately, DRT is investing anew in a structure to keep the company’s vision— and DRTers’ individual goals — clear and top of mind.

DRT is introducing EOS, or Entrepreneurial Operating System, in April to “sharpen our focus on goals—short, midterm, and long-term,” says CEO Susan Kidd. “Each of us at DRT is an entrepreneur, and EOS conditions us to approach next steps with our benchmarks in mind—and always to be ready with our elevator pitch.”

EOS identifies, documents, and creates a system of the company’s core processes, such as how an effective internal meeting is managed. These processes then are communicated to all DRTers and contribute to metrics.

“It’s very transparent, tracking objectives and giving each of us attainable performance metrics and scorecards in which we see our progress,” says Richard Klemmer, Vice President of Civilian Accounts. “I’ve been through a lot of management training over the years, and I believe this framework has a lot of value to it.”

Kidd recommends two of the books, Traction and Get A Grip, which relay the philosophy behind the EOS system. These books will be made available to DRTers during the company roll out.

 

Plugged into DRT's Connection Points?

Remote work can feel a little remote, but DRT maintains multiple connection points. So be sure to plug into the conversation.

Outside of your communication with your manager and team, here’s our vehicles for touching base:

  • New Employee Orientations each month introduce new team members to the company’s history, ethos, and logistics
  • Quarterly All Hands detail business strategies and results — as well as how everyone can contribute— with fun and team building mixed in
  • Namely platform/email announcements enable kudos and anniversaries to be celebrated, job openings, Tiger Team activities, and other bulletins to be relayed
  • The DiRT newsletter (produced 6 times a year) features your photos, videos, and story ideas, as well as tips and takeaways from successful projects, from one DRTer to another
  • Tiger Teams give DRTers a chance to talk to those on different projects, expanding your understanding of the company, its values, and initiatives.

We welcome your communication ideas. Email us at HR@drtstrategies.com.

Winners Abound With DRT Games, Raffle

DRT Life challenged DRTers to a game of Scattergories with these strategists emerging triumphant: Lana Bian, Lance Owen, and Natasha Aquino. Pictured here (top to bottom, left to right) Joe Dorn, Erica Boehm, Sonji Johnson, Natasha Aquino; Melvin Gatling, Lana Bian, Wayne Fong, Lance Owens; Ernest Weems, Rangena Hotaki, Chris Kalinowski, Richard Madsen; Glenn Hayes and Michelle Trybulec.

In other fun, DRT was not about to let Snoop Dog, Eminem, & Mary Kay Blige dominate the Super Bowl halftime. DRT Cares ensured that our corporate charity mentoring youth in the nation’s capital was center stage.

Thank you to the employees who recruited raffle participants —with the company donating proceeds to the Youth Leadership Foundation. Congrats to DRTer John Samaha who came up a 3rd quarter winner.

 

CEO Message

Dear DRTers,

I’m looking forward to the roll-out of the forementioned EOS system — a structure that will contribute to more success. We will gain shared processes and vocabularies for our growth—as well as measures by which to track our individual contributions.

Speaking of which, I will reiterate on the behalf of the leadership team a “Job well done!” and congratulations to the list of recently announced promotions. Talent has always set DRT apart and we are happy to drive resolution together with our  exceptional, entrepreneurial teammates.

As the cherry blossoms emerge, we will be welcoming new grads to our midst. Already, four have joined us, so please take a moment to welcome them: Narden Botros, Daniel Hinchman, Alexander Zakrzeski, and Kirit Kondoori.

Here’s to springing forward — with bold, innovative solutions and the joy of collaboration,

Employee Spotlight: Kendon Krause

D.C.-area based Expert Consultant Kendon Krause knows her way around a meeting —as a governance lead for five Investment Review Boards (IRBs) at the USDA. She shares her tips with The DiRT— and thoughts on a holiday she heartily endorses.

Q. Tell us what you do as governance lead.

A. I offer project management support for five IRBs, overseeing almost a billion dollars a year of USDA project investment. Governance ensures these investments are sound — by managing the executive communication, meetings, documentation, decision making, the tracking of action items, and a myriad of other details.

Q. The new EOS system DRT is introducing helps DRTers achieve Level 10 meetings. How do you ensure Level 10 in your governance capacity?

A. It can take me 30 hours to prepare the meeting minutes in my work, that is how detailed it is. So, I love facilitating an effective, organized meeting. The key? Organization. Having the right people on the call. Ensuring they have done their homework. Sending out reminders. Updating the meeting invite when we add new material, always with the date it was added.

Q. Once, you were this close to becoming a psychologist. Do you ever regret taking another direction?

A. I did all the coursework for my PhD, but I pivoted. My sister was nine months pregnant at the time and I decided I wanted to be a hands-on aunt so I moved here and the rest is history. The best part of my job is the people I work with: my boss Ameer El’Alaily, my colleague Susan Guerin, and the rest of the team.

Q. Any exciting plans for St. Patrick’s Day?

A. I took the day off because I take St. Patrick’s very seriously. Who can resist a holiday dedicating to pub crawls? I will be paying heed to the mecca, going to three Irish bars that day, wearing green head to toe.

Kendon Krause is headed to Key West this spring for seven-day bachelorette festivities. On a prior adventure to St. Thomas, she hung with Omar (pictured). A fan of both pirates and the paranormal, she says a tour of the island’s Haunted Lagoon is a “must do.”

Important DRT Dates

March

All Month: Donate to DRT Cares’ Perfect Match: Homeless Animal Rescue Team,  a no-kill animal rescue/support group that takes in and rehomes abused and unwanted dogs and cats, sponsored by Kayla Pham.  Email DRT Cares: Perfect Match to get your donation matched.

All Month: DRT Life sponsors March Read-a-Thon. Pick a book, post a mini-review & photo on SharePoint. The joy of reading, sharing, and a raffle gift care will be the rewards.

Friday, March 25, New Employee Orientation, DRT Headquarters (Tentative)

April

All Month: Donate to DRT Cares’ Perfect Match: Children’s National Hospital, sponsored by Farzana Shakir.  Email DRT Cares: Perfect Match to get your donation matched.

Friday, April 29, New Employee Orientation, DRT Headquarters (Tentative)