The EOS Secret Sauce

“Unless commitment is made, there are only promises and hopes… but no plans. You have two choices: your commitment or your fear.”

-Sammy Davis Jr.

EOS. The Entrepreneurial Operating System. The Traction book. Your peers may have told you about it and what it did for their businesses, for their lives. Growth. Profits. Freedom. Fun. Time to pursue other passions. Time? What you talkin’ ‘bout Willis? Yes. Time.

And perhaps you stumbled across a few naysayers who says it didn’t work for their business.

What’s the difference? What makes one company wildly successful (by their own definition) using the tools and another just meh.

Great question. Thanks for asking.

Here’s the secret to success with EOS … (looks both ways to ensure nobody is looking)… In my expert medical opinion (not a dr.) and assuming I stayed at a Holiday Inn Express last night, it all comes down to commitment.

1 part committing to the Process

1 part committing to each other

Shaken, not stirred. That’s it.

Let’s start with the Process. Fact- it works. By this writing over 25k companies have followed the recipe and have gotten more of what they wanted from their businesses. The EOS Process is designed to help you and your team smoke out issues and deal with them so they are resolved forever. Companies that charge like a rhino after their vision get really good at solving issues. They create an environment of clarity and transparency which allows for issues to bubble up because people aren’t afraid to be open and honest. Then they deal with the issue by getting to the root cause and making it go away.

When do they solve said issues? Another great question. They solve issues in their weekly Level 10 meetings and their quarterly pulsing meetings.

At the beginning EOS is sort of fun. Offsite. Strategic planning. BHAGs. At some point things get difficult. The tools are super simple. It’s not rocket surgery! But executing on a vision is difficult. Sometimes you get really busy and it is easy to justify skipping a Level 10 meeting. It’s easy to justify skipping a quarterly pulsing. Don’t get me wrong there are legitimate reasons to call an audible. Just don’t confuse being busy with doing something productive or effective. Busy is a curse word in my book. Are you really too busy? Or are you just not committed to the Process? For context, I’ve seen an accounting firm continue Level 10s and hold a quarterly pulsing during tax season. I’ve seen a property management company at the beach do the same during the summer and while short staffed. In both instances they leveraged the meeting pulse to be more effective during their busy times.

Follow the recipe. Use the tools. Commit to the Process.

Ok. You’re half way there because you’ve committed to the Process. Can I be Frank? (Sure, if I can still be Garth… (Wayne’s World reference)). Making these meetings a priority is only half the battle.

Remember those issues I mentioned? Well not all of them are fluffy topics like where to hold the office holiday party. Some of the issues that bubble up are filled with chunky, sour eggnog that’s been sitting in the back of the fridge since before covid (side note… smell milk products before pouring). Sometimes getting the right people in the right seats to execute on the vision requires some tough conversations.

Do you have a sales person who is crushing their numbers but doesn’t align with your core values? Guess what? They will eventually drag your company down and be a cancer for the org. Or maybe you have a loyal team member who has been with the company for 10 years but doesn’t GWC the seat they’re in. Unfortunately, they will probably underperform in that role compared to what is needed to achieve the vision. Maybe there’s a better spot for them in the company. Or maybe you can help them find something outside the company that is a better fit. Ultimately everyone wants to be the right person in the right seat. Sometimes it takes difficult conversations to make that happen.

The only way to do that is to make a commitment to each other. You have to acknowledge the love for each other and work on building upon the existing levels of trust within your leadership team. You’re all there for the greater good of the org. You’ve followed the Process and are now aligned on a Vision. The only way to solve meaty issues is by having the courage to bring them up and by committing to each other to be open and honest. It can be scary at first, but the end result is a team that will remove any barrier in its path to achieving their vision.

That’s the difference between companies that routinely break through ceilings with EOS and companies that are too busy to commit.

1 part committing to the Process

1 part committing to each other

Shaken, not stirred. That’s it.

(And perhaps clean out the fridge periodically to avoid an accidental eggnog incident.)