At its core, the Entrepreneurial Operating System® (EOS) is about gaining clarity and traction in your business. It’s a system that cuts through the complexity of running a small to midsize business and provides a clear, actionable path to success.
EOS was built and designed to help founders and leaders streamline their business operations, align their teams, and achieve sustainable and scalable growth. EOS offers a proven set of simple concepts and practical tools to move beyond common frustrations and improve your Vision and gain Traction®.
As they say, Rome wasn’t built in a day — but it also wasn’t built single-handedly. Leveraging the right tools and framework, such as EOS, to help develop your organization lets you work smarter, not harder.
In this post, we’ll cover:
- An overview and use case for EOS
- The five common problems entrepreneurs face
- The Six Key Components® of the EOS Model®
- Steps for implementing EOS Powered by Ninety in your business
Why EOS?
EOS was built to help companies grow and scale healthily and sustainably. It follows a particular set of fundamental truths to help leaders and founders achieve their companies’ full human potential.
But that’s not all. EOS is also employee-focused. It provides your team members with a well-defined structure to grow, feel more fulfilled in their work, and achieve their personal goals. They join the company’s growth journey and understand its priorities while also taking part in that growth.
When your leadership team and your organization’s team members are aligned and working toward the same goal, the path forward becomes more achievable.
Here are some of the ways EOS helps achieve alignment:
- It’s a system built to organize your company’s human energy.
- It provides solutions for your organization’s members to meet, solve problems, plan, prioritize, follow processes, communicate, measure, structure, clarify roles, lead, and manage.
- It’s designed for entrepreneurial companies and leaders who are open-minded and looking for growth.
- It’s built on Six Key Components: Vision, People, Data, Issues, Process, and Traction.
Problems Entrepreneurs and Founders Face
Whether you’re a new founder starting your first company or an accomplished entrepreneur with several successful businesses, you probably approach building your business with a unique operating system.
An operating system is a collection of processes, rules, systems, and ideals you believe will help to build and grow your business. Whether intentional or unintentional, your operating system is likely built on your instincts, lessons from mentors, or books you’ve read about building and running a successful business.
So far, your unique operating system may have served you well. Case in point: you’re ready to scale and grow your business.
You've probably also hit some snags during your journey. Maybe you find that each department in your company is operating with different goals, you can’t seem to scale up beyond a certain revenue point, or your leadership team can’t seem to agree on how to allocate resources.
In his book Traction, visionary Gino Wickman describes “hitting the ceiling” as stalled growth or a business challenge you’re having trouble overcoming. He shares the common signals that you’re hitting the ceiling through five common hurdles founders and entrepreneurs face:
- Lack of control: As a founder, there are many things you can’t control, like the market and your customers. Even the things you can control, like your time or company, seem to be slipping away. Instead of controlling the business, the business is controlling you.
- People: You find yourself frustrated with the people who are meant to help you build and grow your business, like your team members, customers, vendors, or partners. They don’t seem to listen, understand you, or follow through with their agreements. In short, you’re all on different pages.
- Insufficient profit: No matter your efforts, you can’t seem to generate the profit you’ve sought to achieve.
- Hitting the ceiling: Your growth plateaus. No matter your actions, you can’t seem to progress to the next level. You now feel overwhelmed and unsure of how to proceed.
- Nothing’s working: Despite experimenting with strategies and quick-fix remedies, none have stuck or helped the situation. As a result, your staff is unresponsive to new initiatives.
Wickman identified these as common hurdles all entrepreneurs face. This means you’re not alone. And it means EOS knows how to get you past this glass ceiling and on to the next level in your organizational journey. As a founder and entrepreneur, you have power and control over how you move forward.
That’s where the EOS Model comes in.
EOS Key Components
The EOS Model is comprised of the Six Key Components: Vision, People, Data, Issues, Process, and Traction.
Every company is made up of these same six components. If each of these areas is healthy and thriving, then your company is bound for success. If a few of these components are struggling, then you know which areas of the company need the most attention and support.
The EOS Model helps entrepreneurs visualize the Six Key Components of their organization, promoting balance between working on the business and working in the business. It keeps people aligned, on-track, and accountable.
When each area of the EOS Model is receiving the right amount of focus and care, you’ll know it. Here are some of the ways healthy components manifest themselves across your organization:
- Unified vision and clarity: The company has a clear, shared vision of where it wants to be, articulated through the Vision/Traction Organizer® (V/TO®). This clarity ensures that every team member understands the long-term goals and how their role contributes to achieving them.
- Streamlined operations: With The Accountability Chart® fully implemented, roles and responsibilities are clearly defined, eliminating confusion and ensuring that everyone knows what they have agreed to. This leads to efficient operations and effective use of resources.
- Data-driven decision-making: The adoption of the Scorecard means decisions are based on real, actionable data. Regular tracking of Measurables ensures the company remains agile and able to respond to changes or challenges effectively.
- Proactive problem-solving: The Issues Solving Track™ is ingrained in the company culture, fostering an environment where issues are addressed promptly and systematically. This proactive approach prevents small problems from becoming larger issues.
- Consistent and effective communication: The EOS Meeting Pulse, including Level 10 Meetings, quarterly meetings, and annual sessions, is fully integrated into the company's routine. This ensures consistent communication, alignment, and focus on priorities across the organization.
- A culture of accountability and continuous improvement: The full implementation of EOS tools and processes creates a culture where accountability is valued, and continuous improvement is a constant pursuit. Employees are engaged, motivated, and committed to the company's success.
- Sustainable growth and success: The company experiences sustainable growth, with the EOS framework providing the structure and tools needed to scale effectively, navigate challenges, and seize new opportunities. The once chaotic environment is transformed into a well-oiled machine, where everyone is aligned and working toward the same objectives.
Implementing EOS
EOS is not a band-aid or a magic wand. It can’t fix your organization’s issues overnight, but it can help you fix them for good. The Entrepreneurial Operating System invites you to implement a complete system for running your business that will help propel your organization past the roadblocks and frustrations that have held you back.
Of course, this will require work from your leadership team, commitment to your vision, and a careful reassessment of your strategies and processes as your organization continues to scale.
In short, EOS offers you an organized approach to achieving your goals.
Even with all of these advantages, implementing big changes and following through with them is challenging. That’s where Ninety can help. With EOS Powered by Ninety, founders and leadership teams can leverage the power of the Entrepreneurial Operating System faster, more easily, and more effectively than ever before.
Ninety offers a comprehensive, integrated, and customizable solution that organizes and centralizes the process while also empowering your team. Our easy-to-use software for EOS provides an automated, intuitive alternative to manual and analog methods — so you can put an end to paperwork and focus on what matters most.
“We’ve been Running on EOS Powered by Ninety since 2017 and we have grown our business 3x…It has been one of the most impactful things I’ve done as a business owner.”
— Aaron Grossman, CEO of Talent Launch
How to Start Running Your Business on EOS with Ninety
There’s a reason Ninety is the leading provider of software for EOS: EOS Powered by Ninety has proven its effectiveness with hundreds of organizations. This system has provided many founders and CEOs with the framework they didn’t know they needed to break the proverbial glass ceiling.
So, where can you start? With these four steps.
- Step 1: Schedule a 90-Minute Meeting with a Professional EOS Implementer®. During this complimentary meeting, the EOS Implementer shares the Six Key Components and the various EOS tools meant to help you. They also introduce EOS Powered by Ninety to achieve your goals. I strongly encourage you to find an EOS Implementer out of our approved network to take this first step.
- Step 2: Assess. You and your leadership team should carefully consider if Ninety is the right fit for your organization. What are the advantages?
- Step 3: Commit. Your leadership team needs to agree and commit to using EOS Powered by Ninety to upgrade your Business Operating System.
- Step 4: Go! With your leadership team, your organization integrates and implements EOS Powered by Ninety into your business.
Find the Right Framework with Ninety
Without the right framework in place, you might feel like you’re spinning your wheels when it comes to making real progress on your vision. The implementation stage is just as important as the ideation stage (if not more), so it’s critical that you find the operating system that works for you.
EOS has proven itself to be an invaluable system when it comes to running a business. Founders and leaders across the globe have used EOS to scale their companies in a sustainable, profitable way. The Six Key Components of EOS serve as constant touchpoints to make sure you’re staying on track to achieve your goals while deftly handling the challenges that will inevitably crop up along the way.
Empower your business with EOS Powered by Ninety and take another step toward building a great company.
