If You’re Not Using These 5 EOS® Tools, You’re Not Running on EOS

Too many owners, executives, and teams are not getting the full benefit of running their organization on EOS. This is, in large part, due to simply being misinformed. I write this to help the business community get it right.

It’s Not A Strong House Without a Strong Foundation

A few months back, I delivered a presentation on the Entrepreneurial Operating System® to a number of business owners in the Grand Rapids, Michigan area. After the presentation, an enthusiastic entrepreneur came up to me to share his passion for EOS.

He explained he was self-implementing and also using someone who claimed to teach EOS. We were deep in a dialogue around the tools being implemented into his organization over the last two years, when I realized he didn’t mention the Accountability Chart™.

I asked him, “Do you feel your Accountability Chart is the right structure for your organization?”

He replied, “We haven’t done one yet, but we are thinking about it.”

This man was in need of the truth behind his weak foundation. He is simply missing too much in his organization by not having an organizational structure. I pleaded, “It’s time to work on your Accountability Chart immediately.”

Here was someone claiming to run on EOS without having organizational clarity. He was unclear on his own employee’s roles and responsibilities, and he lacked a sense of urgency around the importance of an Accountability Chart.

This happens all too often: business owners are blind to the complete picture. The Accountability Chart is one of the five EOS Foundational Tools we implement into our clients’ organizations. This is accomplished in the first three hours of implementation, yet we have a business owner without an Accountability Chart that is two years into what he believes is his company running on EOS. The Accountability Chart is critical to laying the foundation for the rest of the EOS journey. For those that skip any one of the five Foundational Tools, you aren’t actually running on EOS.

The 5 EOS Foundational Tools

Before you claim your organization is running on EOS, be sure that you have these five foundational tools implemented:

1. VTO™ (Vision/Traction Organizer)™ – This is a two page strategic guide that focuses on aligning your entire organization around the answers to eight questions. What are your core values? What is your Core Focus™? What is your 10-Year Target™? What is your marketing strategy? What is your 3-Year Picture™? What is your 1-Year Plan? What are your Rocks? What are your issues?
2. Accountability Chart – Forget organizational charts! The Accountability Chart defines the right structure for your organization, all the while, having everyone in the organization clear on their roles and responsibilities. This is organizational clarity.
3. Rocks – Every 90 days you have Rocks for individuals and the company. Sharing your company’s top priorities for the next 90 days. Everyone in your company has one to seven top priorities they are working on over the quarter.
4. Meeting Pulse™ – The bulletproof, truth-telling, meetings everyone on EOS is talking about. Your company is running weekly Level10 Meetings™ and quarterly meetings at all levels of the Accountability Chart.
5. Scorecard – Everyone in the organization has weekly measurables. They are clear on what is expected of them and what they are to achieve. This should be giving you a pulse on your organization.

 Here is my plea to you:

• It’s time to stop using EOS like a menu at a restaurant.
• It’s time to commit to the process fully.
• It’s time to get the full value of EOS.

Previously published on the Know Honesty blog as, “Have These 5 Foundational Tools? You’re EOS!”