90u Glossary

1-Year Goals

The objectives your team or the organization needs to accomplish in the next 12 months to stay on track with the Compelling and Audacious Goals.

3-Year Goals 

The objectives and targets a Senior Leadership Team sets to inspire the organization toward its path of completing the Compelling and Audacious Goals.

9 Core Competencies

The nine areas businesses need to master to build a great company. The 9 Core Competencies are Vision, Customer, Goals, People, Culture, Data, Meetings, Process, and Enterprise Value.

Accidental BOS

Early-stage businesses often have an operating system that's mostly improvised, reactive, and disorganized. Since the business is just starting out, there's a lot in flux and little consistency.

Annual Planning Meeting (APM)

A meeting that occurs once a year, usually over two full days, to conduct longer-term strategic work, a review of the company’s Vision, and an update of 3-Year and 1-Year Goals.

Baseline Assessment

An assessment to establish your organization's proficiencies with the 9 Core Competencies, provide you with a BOS Readiness Score, and insights on whether or not you would benefit from a coach.

BOS  Platform

A set of online tools used that help integrate data, opportunities, issues, processes, and people to help a business achieve its goals while accelerating its vision. Ninety is a BOS Platform.

Business

A business can be small or big (by its number of people or revenue), new or old, but is primarily in the earlier stages of development. Every commercial organization starts out as a business and may evolve into a company.

Business Operating System (BOS)

An organized set of concepts, tools, and disciplines describing how an organization operates.

Cascading Messages

Messages sent from other teams — usually from the SLT or human resources to the rest of the company. In Ninety, these are shown during the Headlines section of a meeting.

Change Management

How an organization systematically handles operational changes, including adaptations to goals, processes, technologies, and more.

Clarity Time

Scheduled time (30-60 minutes) during your work week to clear your head.

Coach

An experienced guide who teaches a BOS to an individual or team. Coaches typically attend and help to facilitate various meetings. Each BOS refers to coaches differently. For example, EOS calls them Implementers.

Company

A company refers to a more developed business that can operate efficiently without its founder. Companies are typically at a higher stage of development.

Compelling and Audacious Goals (CAGs)

Modeled after Jim Collins' Big, Hairy, Audacious Goals (BHAGs), these are challenging and inspiring 10-year targets for a company.

Competency, Commitment, Capacity (CCC)

Ninety's framework for evaluating a team member's fit for a specific Seat.

Concepts, Tools, and Disciplines (CTDs)

The concepts that help leaders turn their Vision into reality, the tools they use to align work with the organization's Vision, and the disciplines that help keep teams on track toward their goals.

Core Center of Excellence (CCE)

When an essential department is aligned with the organization's Vision and full of subject-matter experts, it becomes a Core Center of Excellence (CCE).

Core Functions

The essential departments an organization needs to operate (such as Sales, Marketing, and Operations). Core Functions should be led by subject-matter experts.

Core Processes

An organization's essential, repeated tasks that must be executed well every time; these are the most strategic, value-adding procedures your organization does regularly, so they need to be documented, ingrained, and continuously refined by the team members who are associated with those activities.

Core Values

A set of guiding principles and behaviors that an organization desires to see consistently embodied by its team members. 

Culture

The shared beliefs, attitudes, behaviors, and practices that shape the way people in an organization interact and work together. Strong cultures are characterized by trust, collaboration, open communication, and a sense of a shared purpose.

Customer Journey

The Customer Journey is a visualization/illustration (step by step) that shows your customers how you deliver value. It should resonate with a company's Ideal Customer. People, systems, and processes are aligned with it.

Data Competency

One of the 9 Core Competencies, Data Competency refers to teams using data, scorecards, metrics, and Rocks or goals to steer their work.

Designed BOS

This type of BOS is expert-led, industry-specific, and calculated. Built by coaching company experts based on their experience with hundreds (sometimes thousands) of businesses, a Designed BOS consists of interrelated concepts, tools, and disciplines that work best when used together. 

Direct Reports

Team members who report directly to a specific manager.

Facilitator

The person leading a meeting. In most instances, it is preferable to have a separate person running Ninety's software and taking notes.

Focus Filters

The essential elements of a simple but complete company Vision: Core Values, Purpose/Passion/Just Cause, Go-to-Market Strategy (Ideal Customer, Industry and Niche, Unique Value Proposition), and Goals (CAGs, 3-Year and 1-Year Goals, Rocks). Each decision a team member makes should be aligned with these organizational commitments.

Foundation Setting Session

Part of a three-step process we recommend for upgrading your Business Operating System that covers mastering four key time-tested concepts, tools, and disciplines: the Responsibilities Chart, Rocks, Scorecards, and Weekly Team Meetings.

Get Smart Stuff Done

As one of our Core Values, this maxim broadens our focus from moving quickly to being mindful of each decision to make the wisest choices for the organization.

Go to Market Strategy

A piece of your Vision that includes your industry, niche, Ideal Customer personas, and Unique Value Proposition.

Goal Setting Session

Part of a three-step process we recommend for upgrading your Business Operating System that covers mastering four key time-tested concepts, tools, and disciplines: 3-Year Goals, 1-Year Goals, Rocks, and Issues lists.

Headlines

A feature of Ninety's Meetings tool used to communicate news or announcements.

Henryx

Found through Settings within Ninety, Henryx is a bot that allows people to interact with Ninety via text messaging. Get started with Henryx today.

High-Trust Companies (HTCs)

Companies that have high-trust relationships with 90% of their stakeholders. HTCs actively build on trust's three dimensions: character, competency, and connection.

Holistic BOS

A Holistic Business Operating System is proven, time-tested, and enduring. With support for every main business function, Holistic BOSs have all the major concepts, tools, and disciplines associated with building an enduring company.

Ideal Customers

Customers who embody a specific mix of geographic (where they are), demographic (who they are), and psychographic (what they want) characteristics.

Ideal Stakeholders

Stakeholders are ideal when they identify with and exemplify your Core Values and culture.

Ideal Team Members

People who represent the company's Core Values, are a great cultural fit, have the CCC for their Seat, and believe in the company's Vision.

Industry and Niche

One of six primary Focus Filters outlined in your organization's Vision describes what kind of business you're in and what you provide to that industry's market.

Integrated BOS

An Integrated BOS is cloud-based, actualized, and unified. It seamlessly includes data with cross-organizational views of KPIs, goals, responsibilities, and more through the implementation of a BOS platform that contains all the core concepts, tools, and disciplines needed to make the founder’s Vision a reality.

Intentional BOS

An Intentional BOS is stable, purposeful, and experienced. It's built out of the collective experience of an organization's Senior Leadership Team, which agrees on a common set of tools and disciplines.

Issue

A problem, obstacle, idea, or opportunity to discuss and solve as a team. 

Keep/kill/combine

A strategy used to tackle issues. What needs to stick around? What can be made into a To-Do or simply marked off? What Issues are similar and warrant discussing together?

Key Performance Indicator (KPI)

A quantifiable measure or metric used to evaluate the success of an organization, team member, etc., in meeting agreed-upon objectives for performance. While KPIs are metrics, not all metrics are KPIs. KPIs are only the most essential (or key) metrics. In the Ninety platform, KPIs are set and tracked in the Data Scorecard.

Layer
A horizontal row on a structure chart that represents work with similar Time Spans of Responsibility.

Lead, Agree, Coach (LAC)

A philosophy of leadership stating that anyone who heads a team must use agreements to align the team, be a leader for the team, and be a coach to each person on the team.

Long-Term Issues

Issues that can wait to be discussed until the team's next quarterly meeting — some of these turn into Rocks for the following quarter.

Long-Term Issues List

A section in the tool that collects Issues to discuss at the next quarterly meeting. You can add any Issue to the Long-Term Issues list by right-clicking it and choosing "Long-Term" from the list of options.

Milestones

Segments of a Rock that can be assigned to anyone.

My 90

A customizable workspace and hub for all your essential items in the Ninety platform. You can see all your Team To-Dos, Personal To-Dos, Rocks, and Scorecard Measurables in this accessible workspace.

Note-Taker

The person assisting the facilitator in a meeting by taking notes for the group and operating the software to move through the agenda, create To-Dos, and more.

Org Fitness Review

An assessment for any team to take quarterly for measuring your growth in the 9 Core Competencies.

Purpose/Passion/Just Cause

A Focus Filter of your Vision that includes the reason your organization exists (Purpose), the powerful emotions that influence you (Passion), and/or a future state so appealing that you're willing to go the extra mile to work toward it (Just Cause).

RACI

A project management tool used to help teams clarify roles, accountabilities, and responsibilities.

• Responsible
• Accountable
• Consulted
• Informed

Raise, Discuss, Resolve (RDR)

Ninety's method of processing Issues — someone raises an Issue to the team, they discuss it, and determine the path toward its resolution.

Right Person, Right Seat

A framework for hiring people who exhibit your Core Values, fit your culture, are passionate about your Vision (Right Person), and who have the competency, commitment, and capacity for the position their filling (Right Seat).

Rocks

A 90-day goal established during a Quarterly or Annual Planning Meeting. One person is accountable for the completion of a team or individual Rock. Additional responsibilities or tasks can be assigned to others through Milestones.

Roles, Accountabilities, and Responsibilities (RARs)

The detailed functions, obligations, and duties of a given Seat in an organization.

Scalar

A business that is stuck in survival mode with no sense of its long-term goals or purpose.

Scaler

A company that has created a compelling Vision and has a plan to adapt and grow to meet its goals.

Scorecard

A single chart to report, monitor, and analyze the key numbers an organization, team, or individual needs to ensure they're on track. Scorecards show KPIs and how they're performing relative to their set target. Ninety's Data tool enables Scorecards to set various timeframes for KPIS: weekly, trailing 4-week, monthly, trailing 13-week, quarterly, and annual.

Seat

A function-specific position in an organization that carries roles, accountabilities, and responsibilities. We use the Responsibility Chart to provide an overview of the various Seats, and their lines of reporting that we need to operate.

Senior Leadership Team

The highest-level team in an organization including the Visionary/CEO, the COO or Integrator™/second-in-command, and the heads of departments or Centers of Excellence.

Short-Term Issue

An Issue that needs to be addressed before the next quarter. Issues with the highest priority are raised and discussed in Weekly Team Meetings. These Issues are collected in a team's Short-Term Issues list.

Short-Term Issues List

A collection of a team's Short-Term Issues. Team members can add and prioritize Issues they would like to discuss during a Weekly Team Meeting with the Issues tool.

SMaC

Stands for Specific, Methodical, and Consistent. The SMaC recipe comes from chapter 6 of the book Great by Choice, written by Jim Collins and Morten Hansen.

SMART

Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound. We practice making our Rocks SMART. This framework can be used for any goal.

Subject Matter Experts (SMEs)

This may mean a variety of people who are experts in their field. Which SME you consult depends on what type of content you’re writing, but the SMEs we most commonly consult are business coaches and our own Ninety senior leadership team members.

Stages of Development (of a company)

One of our foundational frameworks for measuring a company’s progress and charting its growth. There are five stages businesses go through on their way to becoming great companies: (1) Survive -> (2) Sustain -> (3) Scale -> (4) Succeed -> (5) Steward.

Stakeholders

The people who have a vested interest in an organization. The seven primary stakeholders are: customers, team members, Senior Leadership team, vendors, strategic partners, investors, and community.

Strata and Levels of Work

A distinct layer (horizontal row in an Org Chart) in an organization represents distinct levels of responsibility and decision-making authority. Levels of work correspond with the RARs of the Seats in their respective Strata. 

Strategic Partner

A business/person we work with to gain/serve clients they bring in.

Subject Matter Expert (SME)

Someone who is highly informed in a given area who can perform their roles and responsibilities and teach it to others.

Target

An agreed-upon bar set for a KPI. Ninety's Data tool shows KPIs as being above, below, or equal to their targets.

The 20/80 Rule

A framework for detailing the top 20% of essential processes responsible for 80% of outcomes.

Time Span Capacity (TSC)

How long a team member can perform their responsibilities independently or without close supervision.

Time Span Focus (TSF)

How far into the future senior leaders can envision and confidently turn a goal into reality.

Time Span Responsibility(TSR)

How long the average tasks of a Seat take to execute.

To-Do

An identified, specific task or action item with two or more parties agreeing on what needs to be done, who needs to complete it, and when it needs to be accomplished.

Unique Value Proposition (UVP)

A company’s value creation promise to its customers, usually one of: lowest cost, innovation, customer service, status.

User Roles

Roles dictate what content a user can edit or view within the Ninety platform. Possible roles include Owner, Admin, Manager, Team Member, Observer, and Coach.

Vendor

A product or service our company uses.

Vision

An organization's definition of itself and the expression of its highest aspirations.

Visionary

A leader or entrepreneur who has a future state in mind that they want to turn into reality.

Weekly Team Meeting (WTM)

(Also called Weekly Meetings) A meeting that occurs once a week so teams can solve problems, prioritize tasks, and ensure To-Dos and Rocks are on track.

Whole Company Tools

Tools that can be used by everyone in an organization.

work vs. Work (with a capital W)

Work with a capital W refers to work people love doing.

Work 7.0™/The Age of Information

The current Age of Work, where lower costs of computing and information processing and more data tools make it possible for people to work remotely.

Work 8.0™/New Age of Work™/New Age of Understanding™

An era that recognizes Work as part of our people's personal evolution.

Work 9.0™/The Age of Self-Actualization

A new level of awareness where we can work to become better, more self-aware versions of ourselves.