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Writer's pictureGabriel Flores

What Is EOS?

Updated: Oct 17, 2022

In this episode our guest, Daniel Felt, Owner of KURA Home, brings up EOS which stands for Entrepreneurial Operating System®, but what is EOS, why is it important, and why should an entrepreneur care?

I already stated what EOS stands for, Entrepreneurial Operating System®, so I am going to refer to it as EOS moving forward. First, what is EOS?

EOS is a complete set of simple concepts and practical tools that has helped thousands of entrepreneurs around the world get what they want from their businesses. EOS was developed by Gino Wickman who is an author, speaker, teacher, and entrepreneur.

Gino has actually written several books about EOS that you can find online and in various bookstores I am sure, but I am not here to sell anyone on a book. So what does EOS do?

EOS is not an operating system, it is a people operating system. According to EOS, implementing EOS will help the entrepreneur and the entrepreneur’s leadership team get better at three things:

Vision: everyone in the organizations is 100% on the same page with where the entrepreneur is going and how the entrepreneur plans to get there

Traction®: Instill focus, discipline, and accountability throughout the company so that everyone executes on that vision – every day

Healthy: Help the entrepreneurial leaders become a more cohesive, functional, healthy leadership team

How is this done and why is it important?

EOS works on taking work stuff and compartmentalizing it into short- and long-term categories. This ensures the employees know what needs to get done, when it needs to get done, and how much of a priority it is to get done.

The goal is to create a more efficient team that executes better. EOS breaks down their categories into 4 buckets:

  • 1 year - Goals that need to be done this calendar year with 3 - 7 goals per year (less is more)

  • 90 days - Rocks are the three to seven most important things you must get done in the next 90 days, with employees having one to three rocks per quarter and leadership typically having three to seven rocks per quarter

  • 7 days - To-Do’s are any action item a team member commits to that must be completed within the next 7 days (capture these on a team’s to-do’s list)

  • Issues - Issues is for unresolved problems, ideas, and opportunities. These are items that need to be discussed and resolved. Issues has two sub compartments:

  • Long-term - issues that cannot get resolved this quarter (90 days)

  • Short-term - issues that must get resolved this quarter (90 days)

That is just one resource that comes with EOS. Their team helps define 10-year target™, 3-year picture™, and 1-year plan. They help create SMART goals which stand for Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Timely.

And that is why the entrepreneurs should care. EOS is another tool to help the entrepreneur thrive not only in business, but in leadership as well. There are many free tools and e-books online that the entrepreneur has available to them right now, and here is one more.

This program is built for the busy entrepreneur. It is designed to solve issues and track how those issues were solved and by who. It helps bring focus and accountability. It helps get the right people in the right seat.

Now I must admit EOS is complex with accountability charts, SMART goals, weekly meetings, etc., but it is useful. However, everyone must be onboard in order for it to succeed. Wickman discusses inviting openness and honesty from staff in his book Traction.

And in truth this process will not happen overnight. Wickman also mentions this in his book Traction specifically highlights companies moving at their own pace, and “forcing it to move any faster could be damaging”.

For larger companies over 100 employees, adopting the EOS system may take longer than a smaller, more nimble start-up with less than 100 staff members. According to LouisvilleGeek, “completely adopting EOS could take up to three years within larger companies.”

The system is not going to be perfect, and as I stated my goal is not to push this system onto anyone, my goal is to simply provide awareness that the EOS is out there and available to entrepreneurs who may find it of value to them.

After all, we are a globe of entrepreneurs, and when small businesses win, we all win.

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