Have you ever visited a country where you donโt speak the language and tried to communicate? You look for common words and gestures to connect and make yourself understood. Thatโs sometimes how I feel trying to explain EOSยฎ! But I promise you this: If you understand Agile, you can understand EOS.
As an Expert EOS Implementerโข, I constantly am looking for new ways to describe the Entrepreneurial Operating Systemยฎ. If I throw out terms like Level 10 Meetingโข or GWCโข to someone less familiar, I can see the panic in their eyes.
How Agile and EOS Are Similar
โAgileโ refers to the ability to create and manage change within a project. These project management methods and practices make sure work keeps moving forward in an uncertain and constantly changing environment. All the while the focus stays on delivering business value.
EOS does exactly the same thing but on an organizational level. Rather than being project-specific, it serves as an operating structure for the entire business and everyone in it. It aligns and harnesses human energy with simple concepts and practical tools. More than 130,000 companies use EOS to stay on track and get what they want from their businesses.
Getting Down to Business
Agile has supporting tools and frameworks that serve as the foundation of a successful project, and so does EOS. The five Foundational Tools of EOS easily translate to Agile users, as shown below:
- Vision/Traction Organizerโข (VTOโข) โ Your two-page strategic guide that aligns your entire business around core values, Core Focusโข, a 10-Year Targetโข, a 3-Year Pictureโข, and a 1-Year Plan.
- Accountability Chart โ This defines the right structure for your organization and aligns the entire team on their roles and responsibilities.
- Rocks โ The top priorities for each person and the company, set each quarter and prioritized above all else!
- Meeting Pulseโข โ The framework for essential meetings that brings transparency and clarity.
- Scorecard โ Everyone in the organization knows their responsibilities and how they get measured each week.
As users of Agile will recognize, these tools easily correspond to Agile concepts such as Roadmaps, Backlogs, and Sprints. Weโre speaking the same language now!
Youโll Never Look Back
Like Agile, EOS takes a little time and patience to get your company set up and speak the language together. EOS Implementers help speed up the process! We have significant experience helping companies make the transition and stick with it through any challenge. After facilitating more than 850 EOS sessions, I can confidently say Iโve helped every company work through any rollout challenges.
Most product teams operate Agile through a software platform for visibility into a teamโs work and how quickly they complete it. Similarly, the new EOS Oneโข Software provides an all-in-one digital resource to make running your business on EOS simple and efficient.
Once youโve run projects on Agile, you canโt imagine not running them on Agile. We feel the same way about EOS!
EOS aligns the entire company with the leaderโs vision. Everyone understands exactly what needs to happen to move the business forward, even in an uncertain and changing environment.
Did that make sense? I probably canโt help you talk to a cab driver in another language, but hopefully, Iโve made EOS clearer!
