Haraya Del Rosario Gust

I almost quit.

I came from the corporate world, where I'd been successful. I figured entrepreneurship would be hard, but I didn't expect it to be this hard. Or this lonely.

I remember sitting in my EO Forum, telling my fellow entrepreneurs that maybe this just wasn't for me. I couldn't seem to communicate with my team. I didn't know what "great" looked like when hiring. I was working harder than ever, but nothing was clicking. I'd read the books. I'd tried the frameworks. Nothing stuck.

That's when one of my Forum mates, fresh from the Entrepreneurial Masters Program, showed me a copy of Traction.

I was skeptical. Another book? But I got a copy and read it anyway.

And something clicked.

For the first time, I could see what was broken. I was hitting the ceiling — but more than that, I WAS the ceiling for my team. I didn't know how to give clear direction. I didn't know how to use measurables. I didn't know what a great person looked like for my company.

I self-implemented EOS. And this time, it worked.

Entrepreneurship didn't get easier. In some ways, it got harder. EOS brings clarity, and clarity means there's no place to hide. What needs to be done becomes obvious. But it got simpler. And with the right tools to surround myself with the right people, it also got a lot more fun.

I used EOS to scale StraightArrow - my digital marketing agency - to serve Fortune 500 clients in the US and London, all from our office in Metro Manila. In 2021, StraightArrow was acquired by 2X Marketing, a global B2B firm serving companies like SAP and Ricoh.

I became Southeast Asia's first professional EOS Implementer in 2017 because I wanted to learn everything I could about EOS. As I regained my confidence and my time back, I started helping other entrepreneurs get what I wished I'd had earlier: a clear operating system and someone who's actually been in the arena with them.

Nine years later, I've worked with 120+ leadership teams across the Philippines, Singapore, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Australia, Dubai, and the United States. I understand the nuances of building in Asia. I understand the expectations of Western markets. I've lived both.

My clients often tell me I'm a "calm force" - someone who makes complexity feel manageable and leadership feel shared. I take that as the highest compliment.

As Gino Wickman says: "We CAN be driven and be at peace." It's possible. I've seen it happen: in my own life and in the lives of the leaders I work with.