My best blog ideas usually come from questions that I get from clients or prospective clients. Here’s a list of my “Top 9” (you were expecting “Top 10” weren’t you?) frequently asked questions regarding EOS® (the Entrepreneurial Operating System®):
1. Does it really take three full days to lay the foundation? The answer is almost always yes. The “spaced-learning” method of EOS® is intentional…and it works. If you shorten the cycle with fewer days between the three foundation sessions (Focus Day™, Vision Building™ Day 1, and Vision Building™ Day 2), the leadership team won’t have enough time to get familiar with the tools. This will delay the rollout to the rest of the team. So what seems like a shortcut in the beginning ends up delaying your overall EOS® deployment. The only exception to this is with teams who have self-implemented. My clients who originally self-implemented can *sometimes* shrink the three foundation days into two days. However, it’s a lot of work on the team, and teams who self-implement are always surprised at how much they originally missed (or didn’t know).
2. Is my team too small for EOS®? The Professional EOS Implementer Community™ comes together every Monday morning for a peer group call as well as quarterly in-person meetings for continuing education. During these meetings, we discuss what size businesses benefit the most from EOS®. While the official answer is that EOS® works best for clients between 10 and 250 employees, companies with five or six employees up to 5,000 employees are successfully running on EOS®. When I speak with prospective clients, I tell them they need three things to successfully begin the EOS® journey: the resources to do the work (time and money); the ability to spend a full day out of the office with minimal interruptions (can the office run without them for a day?); and the desire to improve their business by running on a single operating system.
3. Can EOS® be implemented remotely? No. I’ve tried this, and the scores at the end of each remote meeting were much lower than usual session scores. As a Professional EOS Implementer, one of my most important roles is to “enter the danger.” This means that the implementer must be able to see the 800 pound gorilla in the room and be ready and willing to confront it. This is almost impossible to do over a webcam.
4. Can my company be saved? There is a sense of being overwhelmed that some clients face early in the process (usually after Focus Day™). This is completely normal. A long list of “issues” is completely normal. My record for number of issues at the end of a Focus Day™ is 68. Don’t worry, this list will get shorter. Change is always hardest in the middle. If you’re at this point in your EOS® journey, don’t despair. It gets better. You’ve taken the first step towards improvement, and this alone makes you better than most other businesses out there. Remember that we’re striving for greatness (80%), not perfection (100%).
5. I need to make a few personnel changes. Is now a good time to implement EOS®? This is the best time. In fact, if your business is going through any period of growth or change, this is the perfect time to implement EOS®. The tools and disciplines that make up EOS® help you GREATLY improve your hiring process and increase your chances of hiring the right people. Level 10 meetings™ and IDS will help you make better decisions and a regular meeting pulse™ will improve your ability to predict (short-term and long-term).
6. After the foundation is layed (Vision Building™ Day 2), I shouldn’t need an implementer, should I? Hold your horses. The EOS® journey takes most companies two years. Extremely high-functioning teams may be able to get away with 18 months, but that is rare. In fact, we’re discussing new EOS® tools in every session through the two-year mark. The best rule of thumb is to take the organizational checkup. When most companies start their EOS® journey, they score in the 20% - 40% range on the org checkup (the measure to which they’re strong in the Six Key Components of running a business). If you think you’re ready to graduate, take the org checkup again. If everyone on the leadership team scores the company higher than 80%, you may be ready to graduate (congratulations)!
7. Do I need to hire a Professional EOS® Implementer? When it comes to implementing EOS in their businesses, some companies read a book (Traction® by Gino Wickman) and jump right in. Their drive is commendable, and they usually see results. However, I get calls on a regular basis from businesses who have implemented EOS® on their own, and they aren't seeing the results they expected. Other companies have hired an "implementer" who knew a little about EOS® or had helped a company or two with their self-implementation. Most of these "implementers" are business consultants who want to add EOS® to their list of options. Only a "Professional" or "Certified" EOS® Implementer has gone through extensive training, attended weekly peer group calls, participated in quarterly continuing education, and worked to maintain extremely high session scores from clients. EOS® "pure" equals results!
8. What type of results can I expect to achieve with EOS®? On average, businesses running on EOS® see an average of 18% year-over-year growth. Of course, your mileage may vary, but I've seen clients achieve surprising top-line growth, bottom-line growth, and make massive cultural improvements. At the end of the day, it depends on what you want from your business. EOS® is a set of tools and disciplines that can help you achieve any business goals you set.
9. Will EOS® work me? Almost always, the answer is yes. If your business is run like a business, EOS® will help you cast your vision (getting EVERYONE rowing in the same direction), gain traction (the discipline and accountability you must have to achieve your vision), and achieve team health (increase the trust and cohesiveness of your team).
These are a few of the questions that I'm asked most often. If you have a question that I didn't cover, reach out or schedule your free 90-minute meeting.