EOS Core Focus: Five Strategies to Stay Aligned as You Scale

As your business scales, the challenge isn't just about growing revenue or expanding market share. It's about doing so with clarity, purpose, and alignment. That’s where the EOS Core Focus™ comes in.

Getting this right can mean the difference between thriving as you scale and getting lost and distracted.

What Is EOS Core Focus and Why Does It Matter?

The Core Focus™ is part of the Vision Component™ in the EOS Model®. It’s one of the eight questions in the Vision/Traction Organizer® (V/TO®), and it plays a central role in aligning everyone in your organization around the work you should and shouldn’t be doing.

Most entrepreneurial leaders face the same challenge: opportunities come from everywhere, and they all look good. But chasing too many opportunities is a fast track to mediocrity. Instead, EOS encourages leaders to focus on the work that drives their unique value and aligns with their Core Focus™.

Your Core Focus acts as a strategic filter for decisions. When used consistently, it provides:

1. Clarity for leadership and team members.
2. Consistency in decision-making.
3. Alignment across departments.
4. Energy and engagement from working on what matters most.

The Two Components of Core Focus: Purpose + Niche

At the heart of the Entrepreneurial Operating System® (EOS®), the Core Focus is a powerful tool that anchors an organization. If your Core Values are your Who we are then Core Focus is What we are. It combines two crucial elements: your Purpose, Cause, or Passion, and your Niche. This has been referred to as the Sweet Spot.

1. Purpose, Cause, or Passion
   Similar to your Core Values, the Purpose, Cause, or Passion statement is already here and we are discovering, simplifying and activating it. Think of this as what compels you, what drives you beyond the economic opportunity to sacrifice and invest in the business. Anyone can work for a paycheck but the right people work for their passion. 
   
   Example: One of my clients, Roundstone Insurance, their statement is Quality, affordable, aligned healthcare for ALL.
   
   
2. Niche
   This is a superior skill or what do you do better than everyone else in which you compete. Your niche should be narrow enough to create clarity but broad enough to allow for creativity and innovation.
   
   Example: Roundstone Insurance’s Niche statement is Helping mid sized companies cost effectively deliver quality health benefits

How to Define Your Core Focus

In EOS sessions, we are objective driven not agenda focused. We also know its not a one and done scenario. This is not an afternoon brainstorm. It’s a reflective, iterative process that may take weeks to get right. But once it’s clear, the benefits are transformational.

Here are the steps we follow:

1. Clarify Your What: Start by discussing the impact you want to make. What lights you up? What’s the change you want to see in the world? Don’t settle for generic answers. Dig deep.
2. Define Your Niche: Next, get crystal clear on your product or service sweet spot. Where do you outperform the competition? What do your best customers consistently praise you for?
3. Test for Energy: Once you draft your Core Focus, ask: Does this give us energy? Are we excited to say it out loud? If not, go back to the drawing board.
4. Use It as a Filter: The Core Focus is not a wall poster. It’s a decision-making tool. Start using it to vet new opportunities, partnerships, hires, and investments.

Staying Aligned with Core Focus as You Scale

Defining your Core Focus is one thing. Staying aligned with it as your organization grows is another. Here are 5 proven ways to stay aligned:

1. Revisit Your V/TO Quarterly: In EOS, we operate in a 90-Day World®. That means every 90 days, leadership teams step out of the business and work on the business. This includes reviewing the V/TO® and validating your Core Focus. It might not change often, but ensuring everyone is clear and aligned helps to maintain that focus.
2. Teach Your Core Focus to Your Teams: Alignment doesn’t happen by osmosis. Use Level 10 Meetings™ and quarterly State of the Company addresses to teach and reinforce the Core Focus. Your team should be able to recite it and connect their daily work to it.
3. Score New Ideas Against It: When new opportunities arise, put them through the Core Focus filter. Ask: Does this align with our Purpose and Niche? If not, say no—even if it’s shiny and exciting.
4. Structure Your Organization Around It: Use the EOS Accountability Chart™ to ensure your organizational structure supports your Core Focus. Every seat should be aligned to the work that drives your purpose and niche.
5. Reward Alignment: Celebrate people and teams who embody the Core Focus. Give shout-outs in team meetings. Align recognition and rewards to the behaviors that keep the company on mission.

How Ninety Helps Support Your Core Focus

The EOS Tools in Ninety help leadership teams stay grounded in what matters most. Our platform brings your Core Focus to life by making it visible, actionable, and integrated into your everyday operations. Here are three tips to utilize Ninety to support your Core Focus:

1. IDS and Core Focus: Sometimes during IDS in a weekly Level 10 meeting, it becomes apparent that we are struggling on if we should. This is a good opportunity to leverage the VTO and especially the Core Focus function all inside Ninety to get back to clarity.
2. Tag Issues and Rocks to Core Focus: In the Quarterly session we review the VTO before setting Rocks as to remind us of our agreements. You can use tags and custom fields in Ninety to link Issues and Rocks to specific elements of your Core Focus. This builds a culture of alignment and helps track whether strategic decisions reinforce or drift from your core.
3. Clarity Breaks and Core Focus: As we build our businesses, we are often focused on working in the business that we forget we need intentional time to work on it. Clarity breaks allow for leaders to think beyond the day to day. I encourage and personally use the VTO including the Core Focus to guide me in this worthy exercise.