EOS® Glossary
The canonical definitions of every term in the Entrepreneurial Operating System® (EOS®). Every entry reflects official EOS Worldwide doctrine. Terms marked with ® or ™ are trademarks of EOS Worldwide, LLC.What Is EOS?
EOS® (Entrepreneurial Operating System®)
A complete, proven business operating system that helps entrepreneurs get what they want from their businesses by strengthening the Six Key Components of any company. Created by Gino Wickman and introduced in his 2007 book Traction.
The Six Key Components™
Vision Component®
Getting everyone in the organization 100% on the same page about where the company is going and how it will get there. Primary tool: V/TO®.
People Component®
Surrounding yourself with great people, top to bottom, because you cannot achieve a great vision without a great team. Primary tools: People Analyzer®, Accountability Chart™, GWC™.
Data Component®
Boiling the organization down to a handful of objective numbers that give an absolute pulse on the business. Primary tool: Scorecard.
Issues Component®
The ability to become great at solving problems throughout the organization — setting them up, knocking them down, and making them go away forever. Primary tool: IDS®.
Process Component®
Systemizing the business by identifying and documenting the core processes that define how to run the company, and getting everyone to follow them. Primary tool: Three-Step Process Documenter™.
Traction Component®
Bringing discipline and accountability into the organization to execute on the vision. Primary tools: Rocks, Meeting Pulse®.
Vision Tools
Vision/Traction Organizer® (V/TO®)
The two-page document that captures the answers to the eight questions every leadership team must answer to create a clear vision. Page one captures the Vision; page two captures the Traction plan.
Personal V/TO™
A personal version of the V/TO applied to an individual’s life, covering personal core values, core focus, and life goals.
The 8 Questions™
The eight foundational questions answered on the V/TO: (1) Core Values, (2) Core Focus, (3) 10-Year Target, (4) Marketing Strategy, (5) 3-Year Picture, (6) 1-Year Plan, (7) Quarterly Rocks, (8) Issues.
Core Values
The three to seven essential, timeless guiding principles that define the company’s culture and who belongs in it. Discovered, not invented. Used in hiring, firing, reviewing, rewarding, and recognizing.
Core Focus™
The combination of the company’s Purpose/Cause/Passion (why it exists) and its Niche (what it does better than anyone else). Every decision runs through Core Focus.
Personal Core Focus™
The personal version of Core Focus — what an individual is most passionate about and uniquely capable of doing. Used in Personal V/TOs and Delegate and Elevate exercises.
10-Year Target™
The single, long-range, tangible goal the entire organization is marching toward. Typically 5–30 years out; 10 years is the default. BHAG is Jim Collins’ equivalent term — EOS uses 10-Year Target publicly.
Marketing Strategy
The four-part definition of exactly who the company serves and how it wins: (1) Target Market / The List; (2) Three Uniques™; (3) Proven Process; (4) Guarantee.
Three Uniques™
The three things that make the company different from every competitor. A company’s differentiation distilled to three specific, defensible points.
Proven Process
The documented, repeatable way the company delivers its product or service — visualized on one page.
3-Year Picture™
A vivid, specific description of what the company will look like three years from now — revenue, profit, measurables, and descriptive bullets. Written in present tense.
1-Year Plan
The revenue, profit, measurables, and three to seven goals the company commits to completing in the next 12 months.
People Tools
Accountability Chart™
The right structure of seats (roles), with the right people in them, to achieve the vision. Replaces the traditional org chart. Structure comes first; people fill the seats.
GWC™ (Get it, Want it, Capacity to do it)
The three-question test used to evaluate whether a person is right for a seat. All three must be yes: Get it (truly understands the role), Want it (genuinely wants to do the job), Capacity to do it (has the mental, physical, and practical capacity).
Right Person, Right Seat
The two-part standard every employee must meet — fits the Core Values (Right Person) and passes GWC for their seat (Right Seat).
The People Analyzer®
The tool that plots every person against the Core Values and GWC to determine if they are Right Person, Right Seat.
The Bar
The minimum acceptable standard on the People Analyzer that every employee must meet. Set by the leadership team.
Delegate and Elevate™
The exercise that helps leaders identify the work only they should be doing and delegate the rest. Four quadrants: Love/Great at; Like/Good at; Don’t like/Good at; Don’t like/Not good at. Leaders should spend 80% of time in the top quadrant.
LMA™ (Leadership, Management, Accountability)
The three things every leader must provide to their direct reports. Defined in How to Be a Great Boss by Gino Wickman and René Boer.
Five Leadership Abilities
Give clear direction; provide the necessary tools; let go of the vine; act with the greater good in mind; take Clarity Breaks. From How to Be a Great Boss.
Five Management Abilities
Keep expectations clear; communicate well; have the right meeting pulse; have Quarterly Conversations; reward and recognize. From How to Be a Great Boss.
Quarterly Conversation™
The structured, informal one-on-one between a manager and direct report every 90 days — focused on what’s working, what’s not, and development.
Clarity Break™
Scheduled time away from the business — alone, with no phone, no noise — to think, plan, and work on the business. A non-negotiable habit for Visionaries.
Visionary
The role (often the founder) focused on big ideas, culture, key relationships, and major strategic problems. About 3% of the population are pure Visionaries. One seat in the Visionary/Integrator pairing.
Integrator™
The role that harmoniously integrates the major functions of the business and executes the Visionary’s ideas. About 7% of the population are pure Integrators.
Visionary/Integrator™ (V/I)
The two-seat pairing at the top of every great entrepreneurial company — also called Rocket Fuel®. The combination of a Visionary and an Integrator creates the conditions for exponential growth.
Data Tools
Scorecard
A weekly dashboard of five to 15 numbers that gives the leadership team an absolute pulse on the business. Reviewed in the first five minutes of every Level 10 Meeting. Off-track numbers become Issues.
Measurables
Objective, activity-based numbers that predict the future health of the business. EOS prefers “Measurables” over “KPIs” — Measurables are leading indicators.
Off-Track
A Scorecard number that missed its weekly goal. Off-track numbers drop to the Issues List for IDS during the Level 10 Meeting.
Issues Tools
Issues List
The running list of problems, ideas, and opportunities that need to be solved. Three types: V/TO Issues List (strategic, long-term); Level 10 Issues List (tactical, weekly); Departmental Issues Lists.
The Issues Solving Track™ (IDS®)
The three-step process — Identify, Discuss, Solve — for solving any issue so it goes away forever. The 60-minute heart of every Level 10 Meeting.
Enter the Danger
The discipline of addressing tough, uncomfortable issues head-on rather than avoiding them. A core principle of healthy team culture in EOS.
Process Tools
Core Processes
The handful of major processes — typically six to ten — that define how the company operates. Examples: HR, Marketing, Sales, Operations, Accounting, Customer Retention. Documented at a 20/80 level.
Three-Step Process Documenter™
The simple three-step method for documenting Core Processes: (1) Identify, (2) Document and Simplify, (3) Package and roll out FBA.
Followed By All (FBA™)
The discipline of ensuring every person in the organization follows the documented Core Processes consistently.
Traction Tools
Rocks
The three to seven most important priorities a team or person will complete in the next 90 days. Must be SMART. Company Rocks cascade to individual Rocks. Reviewed every Level 10 Meeting.
90-Day World®
The EOS principle that everything the organization does is built around 90-day cycles. Quarterly planning creates the rhythm of execution.
Meeting Pulse®
The rhythm of meetings — weekly Level 10 Meeting, Quarterly Pulsing, and Annual Planning — that keeps a leadership team synchronized and executing.
Level 10 Meeting™
The weekly, 90-minute leadership team meeting with a fixed seven-part agenda: Segue (5), Scorecard (5), Rock Review (5), Customer/Employee Headlines (5), To-Do List (5), IDS (60), Conclude (5). Same day, same time, every week.
Quarterly Pulsing
The full-day session every 90 days where the leadership team reviews progress, solves issues, and sets new Rocks for the next quarter.
Annual Planning
The two-day session once per year where the leadership team refreshes the V/TO, sets the 1-Year Plan, and establishes Q1 Rocks.
To-Do / To-Dos
Short-term, seven-day action items captured during Level 10 Meetings. Always hyphenated. 90% should complete within seven days.
The EOS Process® and Delivery
The EOS Process®
The proven, structured sequence of sessions a Professional EOS Implementer takes a leadership team through — on average 10 full days over two years: 90-Minute Meeting → Focus Day® → Vision Building® Day 1 → Day 2 → ongoing Quarterly and Annual sessions.
90-Minute Meeting
The free, no-obligation introductory session where a Professional EOS Implementer introduces the leadership team to EOS before any commitment.
Focus Day®
The first full-day EOS session where the leadership team adopts the Accountability Chart, Rocks, Meeting Pulse, Scorecard, and To-Do List.
Vision Building®
The two-session sequence (Day 1 and Day 2) where the leadership team builds out the complete V/TO.
EOS Pure
The discipline of implementing EOS exactly as designed, without modification or mixing with other systems.
EOS Toolbox®
The complete collection of EOS tools used to strengthen the Six Key Components of a business.
EOS Model®
The visual representation of the Six Key Components of any business: Vision, People, Data, Issues, Process, and Traction.
Roles and People
Professional EOS Implementer® / EOS Implementer®
A certified, EOSW-trained coach who teaches, facilitates, and coaches leadership teams through the EOS Process. Experienced entrepreneurs themselves, not career consultants. Never referred to as “EOSI” in public content.
EOS Academy
EOSW’s learning and community platform for EOS Implementers and self-implementing companies. Formerly called Base Camp — always use EOS Academy in current content.
Self-Implementer
A leadership team adopting EOS using the books and free tools at eosworldwide.com without a Professional EOS Implementer.
EOS Community
The global network of EOS Implementers, companies running on EOS, and the EOS Worldwide team.
Leadership Team
The three to seven people at the top of an organization who own the vision and the results. The primary audience for EOS.
Philosophical and Cultural Terms
V/T/H (Vision, Traction, Healthy)
The three things EOS helps leadership teams become. EOSW’s Three Uniques for client companies.
The EOS Life®
The ideal entrepreneurial life: doing what you love; with people you love; making a huge difference; being compensated appropriately; and having time to pursue other passions. From Gino Wickman’s 2021 book The EOS Life.
The Five Frustrations
The five universal frustrations that drive entrepreneurs to seek EOS: People, Lack of Control, Profit, Hitting the Ceiling, and Nothing’s Working.
Hitting the Ceiling
The point where a company’s or leader’s growth stalls. Happens at every level of an organization. Five abilities to break through: Simplify, Delegate, Predict, Systemize, Structure.
Written by EOS Worldwide
Reviewed by Mark O’Donnell, Visionary & CEO, EOS Worldwide
EOS Worldwide is the organization behind the Entrepreneurial Operating System®. Content reflects official EOS® doctrine.