What the Heck Is EOS?: A Complete Guide for Employees in Companies Running on EOS

by Gino Wickman

So, what the heck is EOS?

Your company is using EOS (the Entrepreneurial Operating System) as its “operating system.” So, what the heck does that mean for you? Before answering that question, it’s important to first understand that every company has an operating system, whether it has a name or not.

That system is the way a company organizes all of its human energy. It’s the way that the people in the organization meet, solve problems, plan, prioritize, follow processes, communicate, measure, structure, clarify roles, lead, and manage.

It’s hard to understand the operating systems of most companies because the leadership teams aren’t consistent in how they do the above. This inconsistency leads to poor communication, dysfunction, and employees feeling frustrated and confused about what the prio...

Why one operating system? The short answer is that everyone doing it their own way in an organization can’t work. You can’t have a company where everyone can set the priorities, meet the way they want to meet, and use different terminology.

If you have 50 people doing everything 50 different ways, the increased complexity leads to mass chaos. Even worse, people experience incredible confusion and frustration. Simply put, you can’t build a great company on multiple operating systems—you must choose one.

The truth is, a team of average people running their company on one operating system will outperform a team of high achievers, each doing it their own way, every day of the week. That is why your company needs a clearly stated operating system that everyone follows.

So, why this operating system? Because it works. More than 50,000 companies all over the world run on EOS. It’s a complete, simple, and powerful operating system. It helps companies grow to achieve their vision and goals more effectively.

It also gives the employees of those companies a well-defined structure in which they can grow, feel more fulfilled in their work, and achieve their personal goals. It helps them feel more “in-the-know” about what’s going on. When you

understand what the priorities of the company are, it helps you play your ...

EOS also saves time. When everyone in your organization is rowing in the same direction, you’ll find that you are communicating better. EOS eliminates unhealthy and time-wasting activities due to miscommunication. Down the road, that means avoiding train wrecks that can cost your company tons of money and cause you lots of headaches.

EOS is specifically designed for a 10 to 250 person entrepreneurial company that is open-minded and growth-oriented. In our experience, this is where EOS has the most impact. While it works for companies larger and smaller, this is the true sweet spot for EOS.

It’s also important that you know you can’t do it alone. You need a team that you can depend on and that can depend on you. If you’ve been thinking, “What’s in it for me?” that’s fair and understandable. The short answer is that EOS will help you to work more effectively, with less frustration and a clearer understanding of the connection between your efforts and the success of your company.

You may be thinking that implementing EOS in your organization sounds rigid, will stifle creativity, and will rob you of your uniqueness. Actually, just the opposite happens. Just as a computer’s operating system is an underlying framework that helps you be more productive, EOS will do the same for you and your organization. Its underlying framework will magnify your unique contribution and help you be more productive.

EOS is not a project with a specific end date. Implementing EOS in your company is an ongoing, lifelong effort.

The 6 Key Components (Vision, People, Data, Issues, Process, and Traction) are illustrated in the following EOS Model.

By using EOS to strengthen these 6 Key Components, your company will be a great, well-run organization. Your company’s goal is to be 100% strong in each of these areas.

If you’ve ever felt you are “just an employee” or that you don’t have a voice, that is simply not the case with a company running on EOS. A company running on EOS wants you to push, pull, and prod to help get each component as close to 100% strong as possible.

Have you ever been given direction from your manager only to be told something different by a leader from another department? If you answered yes, you’re not alone. This is a common problem in many organizations. It is caused by a lack of alignment within an organization. In other words, each manager or department has different priorities and does things differently. As a result, employees get pulled left, then right, and then told to go backward.

When everyone in the company is working toward the same goals, there is less frustration and fewer mistakes. More gets done in less time, and work is more fun.

There are a handful of EOS tools that are used to strengthen the 6 Key Components. The EOS tool used to strengthen the Vision Component is called the Vision/Traction Organizer, or “V/TO.” It helps everyone in your company get aligned on the same short-term and long-term goals. The V/TO asks the organization, from the owners to everyone throughout the company, to have the same answers to 8 simple questions.

Your role is to understand and buy in to the answers to these 8 questions and to know where your organization is going, where you fit in, and how you can help.

Have you ever had someone on your team who just didn’t fit? Maybe they caused problems between other people by gossiping or backstabbing. Perhaps they were really nice but just couldn’t do the job, causing others more work.

If this sounds familiar, you probably found it maddening. The People Component eliminates that problem. It helps build great teams. It puts the Right People in the Right Seats.

The Right People are the ones who just fit. You know them when you see them; you feel it. They are people you like to work with, people who, like you, want to accomplish something every day. They sacrifice so the team can win. They act according to a code ...

The Right Seat means getting everyone in a role where they can best contribute to the organization: A job where they can be successful. A place where they can accomplish something every day. A person in the Right Seat is someone who consistentl...

For the People Component, companies use 2 EOS tools: the Accountability Chart and the People Analyzer.

Your role is to ask yourself, “Am I the Right Person for this company? Do I fit?” and, “Am I in the Right Seat? Can I do my job really well?”

Would you ever get on a plane with no control panel, no gauges, and no radar? Probably not. Yet that is how many companies operate. They fly blind every day. They can’t see where they are going because they don’t have the right data—sometimes too much and often too little.

The Data Component is designed to help you objectively see where you are going—both as an individual and as a company. It eliminates assumptions, subjective opinions, emotions, and ego. The 2 EOS tools that will help your company become 100% strong in the Data Component are Scorecards and Measurables.

A Scorecard has a handful of numbers that, at a glance, tell you how you are doing and where you are going. Your company’s leadership team reviews the company Scorecard weekly to always have a pulse on the business, to make sure everything is on track, and to identify issues so effectiv...

A Scorecard contains Measurables, which are numbers for which someone is accountable. For example, you might track customer sale meetings, units produced, the days to close the books, on-time shipping, or utilization. Ultimately, every employee in the company should have a Measurable and a goal for that number.

Why? First, so you objectively know how you’re doing. Second, so your manager knows what you’ve accomplished. Third, so your team keeps a pulse on where you are and if you are on track for where you want to go. It will also help you identify small problems so you can solve them before they become a major crisis.

Your role is to look objectively at your job and department and come up with Measurables. At first look, it might surprise you—you might not be doing as well as you think you are. On the other hand, you might be doing great and not getting the credit. Either way, don’t worry; by using Scorecards and Measurables, you’ll know if you are on track to achieve your goals.

By now you’ve probably thought of a few things that need to be improved, fixed, or changed to make your company better. These are called issues. They include anything unresolved that needs to be discussed, such as problems, opportunities, or new and better ways to do things.

So, how does your organization solve these issues? You might have just thought that they don’t. If so, you’re not alone. Many companies discuss issues . . . and discuss them . . . and then discuss them some more . . . but never solve them. This leads to finger-pointing, dysfunction, and frustration for both managers and employees. Why? Because nothing ever is resolved.

The Issue Component is designed to help your organization bring issues to the surface and solve them, once and for all.

The 2 EOS tools that strengthen the Issues Component are the Issues List and the Issues Solving Track. The Issues List allows everyone to openly and honestly list all unresolved issues. The Issues Solving Track is a disciplined way to help you prioritize and solve issues forever.

Going forward, your role is to bring up the issues you see—and to help solve them. If this sounds scary, that’s normal. If this makes you nervous, you are not alone. Rest assured: EOS will give you the tools to safely and effectively do this. If you accept this role, you will help make your company great.

Do you manage projects in different ways? Do sales people enter orders in different ways? Do people take equipment or materials and then fail to replace them? Are you constantly chasing the same information each month?

If so, this indicates a lack of standard processes. The Process Component creates, at a high level, a consistent way of doing all the company’s operations. It is basically a checklist.

Following the same process saves an incredible amount of time and eliminates a lot of frustration. It helps you perform your job with fewer mistakes, delays, and expenses.

When the Process Component is 100% strong, your organization has documented the core things you do every day. Everyone follows these processes, creating consistency and efficiency. Even better, these processes can be scaled so that your company can grow in a manageable way.

Your company will systemize all of the predictable and redundant tasks so you can use your creativity to solve problems. In other words, when processes for repetitious tasks are uniform, your energy can be put toward the unexpected. When this happens, your area will start to run like a well-oiled machine.

Your role is to learn and follow the company’s Core Processes as well as to objectively look at how you are doing things e...

doing that is unnecessary? Are you doing something because one time 5 years ago a customer complained and you’re still doing it today? What is the be...

Are people in your company accountable? Do things get done on time, or are due dates constantly missed? Does your company take on too much? Has your company been trying to implement a software system for years and the project just never seems to end?

Strengthening the Traction Component

is about discipline, execution, and accountability. It helps a company clarify and choose the right priorities. When the Traction Component is 100% strong, you get . . . Traction!

The 2 EOS tools used to strengthen the Traction Component are Rocks and the weekly Level 10 Meeting.