Two EOS implementers, one Wonder Wagon, and a conversation that feels less like a podcast and more like two old friends reminding each other why the work matters. Mike Gruley of 1 Vision Advisors joins Andrew Geisel in the Wonder Wagon on the streets of Kansas City for a candid, wide-ranging conversation about the life of an EOS implementer.
They cover Mike's 33-year career before EOS, what made Traction feel like it was written specifically about him, what separates great implementation from checkbox compliance, and why the single most powerful question you can ask in any session room is also the simplest. They also get into something more personal: how two driven people are both learning to slow down, schedule at 85% capacity, and let their integrators tell them no.
Key Topics
- Mike's 33-year entrepreneurial career — from successes to train wrecks — and how frustration led him to Traction.
- Why Mike feels like he was the "poster child" for EOS before he ever became an implementer.
- Andrew shadowing Mike's early sessions and what it taught him about what not to do.
- What draws both of them to the session room: the push and pull, the truth-telling, and the moments when clarity finally breaks through.
- Why facilitators don't participate — and how self-implementing costs you access to your own truth.
- The most powerful question in the room: "What do you want?"
- Why an implementer who doesn't tell you the truth is committing fraud.
- Getting back to basics: both Andrew and Mike stripping away distractions and simplifying their lives and their practice.
- The 85% rule: scheduling to 85% capacity so 100% doesn't become 110 — and why it matters for driven people.
- Ruthlessly eliminating hurry — and how Mike's integrator Kim manages his calendar better than he ever could.
- Every yes is a no to something else, and how to make peace with that.
Key Chapters
0:00 - Welcome to the Wonder Wagon: a van, the streets of Kansas City, and two implementers.
1:30 - How Andrew got his start by shadowing Mike's sessions — and why Mike still has PTSD from it.
3:00 - Mike's origin story: 33 years in business, the book that felt written about him, and Preston True as his first implementer.
6:00 - Why they do it: unique ability, energy, and the feeling of walking out of a session room on fire.
8:30 - What great implementation actually looks like: rolling up sleeves, asking hard questions, solving real issues.
11:00 - Self-implementing vs. working with an implementer — and the truth-telling that's lost when you try to do both.
14:00 - "What do you want?" — and why peeling the onion always gets there eventually.
17:00 - Getting back to basics: Andrew and Mike both simplifying everything in their lives right now.
20:00 - The 85% rule: Stacy's stress management approach and what scheduling at capacity really costs you.
23:30 - Mike's integrator Kim, Krabby Mike, and the art of letting someone else protect your calendar.
27:00 - FOMO, driven people, and why every yes is a no to something else — including a podcast in a van.
30:00 - What's next: grandbabies in Chicago, Kim sitting in on a session, and ruthlessly eliminating hurry.
33:00 - How to reach Mike: cell phone, 248-761-4401.
Mentions & Credits
Mike Gruley - https://1visionadvisors.com
Traction Book - https://www.eosworldwide.com/traction-book
Gino Wickman - https://www.ginowickman.com
ENRG Greater Ann Arbor Chapter - https://thesecondgeargroup.com
Vistage Michigan - https://www.vistage.com
Wonder - https://workwithwonder.com
EOS Worldwide - https://www.eosworldwide.com
