Implementer Posts
The Health of Your Meetings: The EOS Litmus Test
If you want to know whether EOS® is truly working in your business, look no further than your meetings. Meetings are the heartbeat of EOS. When they’re healthy, your business is healthy. When they’re not, it’s a warning sign that EOS isn’t being implemented as it should. What Healthy Meetings Look Like On time, every time. Meetings start and finish on schedule. Discipline builds trust. Clear agenda. The Level 10 Meeting™ structure keeps everyone focused and aligned. Issues solved. Real problems get tackled, not avoided. Teams leave with solutions, not frustrations. Commitments kept. To‑dos are completed week after week. Accountability is visible. Energy in the room. People are engaged, not drained. Meetings feel productive, not pointless. When these elements are present, you know EOS is alive in your business. Why Meeting Health Matters Meetings aren’t just a calendar item. They’re the system that drives accountability, clarity, and traction. If your
The Hidden Strength of Self-Managing Companies
As an EOS Implementer, I see it quite frequently. The leadership team has been running on EOS for a while, and they’re starting to come together and feel good about themselves. They’re executing consistently and generating the results they want. And so they stop. They get complacent. They think the work is done. But if you want to build a self-managing company that can go the distance, it isn’t enough to have the leadership team running well. A Lack of Mid-Manager Strength The next level down, the mid-managers, need to be able to not just execute well but innovate and problem-solve on their own. Where I see companies struggle is that they tend to stop at the leadership team level. Sometimes because they don’t want to let go and delegate to elevate. There’s fear there, and they still want to be involved in every decision and understand every detail. Sometimes they
When EOS Gets Uncomfortable, You’re Doing It Right
There’s a very specific point in EOS where leadership teams start to wobble. Not at the beginning. Not when things are messy. But right when clarity starts biting. I’ve seen it hundreds of times, & I’ve lived it myself as a business owner. EOS starts shining a light on reality, and suddenly there’s nowhere to hide. The tools are working, the rhythm is in place, and the business starts telling the truth. That’s when leaders get uncomfortable and start wondering if something’s wrong. It isn’t. It’s exactly when EOS is doing its job. What Actually Creates the Discomfort EOS doesn’t make businesses harder. It removes the fog. Before EOS, most leadership teams are operating on assumptions, instincts, and partial information. Conversations are polite. Meetings are busy. Everyone thinks they’re aligned, but no one is really sure. EOS introduces three things that change everything: Visibility Consistency Accountability And those three things
Losing Weight with the EOS Scorecard
I drove past a gym named EOS the other day and wondered what their acronym stood for — since ours stands for the Entrepreneurial Operating System®. Eating Only Salad? Exercising On Steroids (let’s hope not)? That got me thinking about the EOS Scorecard, the tool in our toolbox most likely to help you lose weight, and it’s cheaper than a gym membership (it’s free!). The Power of Data-Driven Decisions My first job out of college was as an Organizational Development project manager at Capital One. Back in 1999, Capital One was disrupting the credit card industry by using data—your spending habits—to create innovative, customized credit card offers. Those pre-approved credit card applications in your mail? Capital One. The balance transfer offers at lower interest rates? Capital One. They could do this because they could predict your future spending behavior based on your past behavior. In my 14 years at Capital
The Annual Reset: 7 Questions Every Leadership Team Must Answer Before January 1
As the calendar winds down, it’s tempting for leadership teams to coast on momentum or postpone tough conversations until “after the holidays.” Yet, the most successful teams use this time intentionally to assess, recalibrate, and set the tone for the year ahead. The key to a strong start isn’t just making plans—it’s asking the right questions. Here are seven questions every leadership team should tackle before January 1: What worked, and what didn’t? Take an honest look at your results. Celebrate wins, but also identify areas where strategies fell short or initiatives lost traction. Avoid blame; focus on insights. Where are we drifting? Even high-performing teams can lose alignment. Are departments or individuals moving in different directions? Identify misalignments before they become entrenched habits. What are our top priorities for next year? Clarity is power. Narrow the focus to the few initiatives that will move the needle. Less is more
Your Integrator Belongs in the Lifeguard Chair
For nearly seven years as an EOS Implementer®, one of the most common challenges I’ve seen on leadership teams is this: the Integrator struggles to fully own the Integrator seat. This most often happens when the Integrator is also sitting in the Operations seat – and never quite steps out of the day-to-day. When that happens, it can feel like: Missing revenue targets Rocks consistently falling below 80% completion Ongoing, unresolved people issues Lack of clear accountability A leadership team that feels like it’s drowning A Visionary and Integrator who aren’t truly aligned Many people assume being a great Integrator means being deep in the weeds – doing the work at a granular level. But when that’s the case, the company often flatlines. The Integrator unintentionally becomes the lid on the organization’s growth. Instead, your Integrator should be like a lifeguard sitting high in the lifeguard chair. Imagine if lifeguards