Implementer Posts
How to Overcome Five Common Challenges to Running on EOS®
EOS® offers a simple, proven system for running an entrepreneurial business, but that doesn’t make it easy. Many teams I work with throughout West Michigan have run into a few common challenges that slow them down. I cover five below, and how you can overcome them on your journey to Running on EOS®. Benefits of Running on EOS® Teams that run on EOS® gain clarity on their company vision, experience improved accountability, and solve real issues. They also learn how to make better business decisions using concrete numbers instead of emotions. Owners focus on what matters most and create healthy leadership teams. Common Obstacles when Implementing EOS® Most teams have to learn how to overcome a few common hurdles to EOS® implementation in their businesses. In their excitement to start gaining the benefits of EOS®, a team might rush to implement every tool at once. Most entrepreneurial companies move fast
What is the one “people move” I must make this quarter?
Gino Wickman had a great line: “You are just a one great person move from a totally different organization”. Your next people move should be a strategic action that strengthens your team, aligns with your Accountability Chart, and ensures Right People, Right Seats (RPRS) in your organization. Tips for a Better Organization Through People Moves: 1. Assess Your Team Using GWC (Gets it, Wants it, Capacity to do it) 2. Use the People Analyzer 3. Clarify the Accountability Chart 4. Make Hard People Decisions Quickly 5. Develop & Elevate A-Players 6. Ensure Leadership Alignment One Great People Move Ideas: What’s your biggest People challenge right now? If you need help making the right People Moves, drop me a note. Stay focused!!
Nudging the Needle Is Not Enough
It happens all the time: leaders set a bold vision—growth, expansion, transformation—but then get stuck. Not because the vision is flawed, but because the follow-through falls short. For instance, maybe they talk about building a top-tier sales team. However, instead of hiring an experienced sales leader, they ask an already overextended operations manager to “pitch in” on sales. Or they want to scale the business, but delay upgrading their tech stack because the current system “still works.” This is nudging the needle, not actually moving it—so the needle doesn’t stay shifted for long. If you’re serious about growth, half-measures won’t cut it. Growth takes real decisions—sometimes uncomfortable ones. It might mean spending money you’d rather not, letting go of tasks you’ve always controlled, or hiring someone who’s better at something than you are. Change is messy. But without it, your bold vision will slowly erode into something smaller, safer, and
Letting Go Is the Most Responsible Thing You Can Do
Originally published 2017 | Rewritten with deeper clarity in 2025By Mike Kotsis One of my clients almost lost the business he spent years building. He owned a semi-truck dealership and had grown it through sheer force of will—long hours, hard work, and the belief that if something needed to be done right, he had to do it himself. That approach worked for a time. But eventually, the business outgrew him. No matter how hard he pushed, he couldn’t carry it all anymore. He was spread too thin. Projects stalled. People were confused. The company, once growing, began to lose its footing. Why? Because he hadn’t yet made the shift from doing it all to leading through others. He was still clinging to the belief that being responsible meant staying involved in everything. But here’s what I’ve seen again and again—Letting go is not abandonment. It’s leadership. You Are Not Your
Marketing Strategy: Clarity Over Cleverness
When most people hear “marketing strategy,” they think ads, logos, SEO, or some overly complicated brand pyramid. But in EOS, Marketing Strategy isn’t about clever tactics. It’s about clarity. It’s answering four simple questions that help you attract—and keep—the right kinds of customers: That’s it. Four filters. Four ways to focus. And don’t be surprised if you need more than one marketing strategy. Different types of customers often require different approaches. You can’t treat everyone the same. A clear example: a wine distributor who sells to restaurants (one target market), wine shops (another), and grocery stores (a third). Maybe the 3 Uniques and Proven Process overlap—but the Target Market? Totally different. The biggest mistake I see? Trying to scale without sharpening this strategy. The second biggest? Letting the marketing team—or worse, an outside agency—own this without the leadership team driving it. Marketing Strategy isn’t a department exercise. It’s a leadership
Core Target: Your Audacious, Anchoring Goal
Every business needs a North Star. Not a vague hope or a catchy slogan—but a clear, energizing, borderline intimidating goal that pulls you forward. In EOS, we call this your 10 Year Target or Core Target. It’s your long-range, 5–30 year destination. The pie-in-the-sky number or outcome that feels just within reach—but only if you stay focused and do the work. When I first encountered the concept, it caught me off guard. For years, I had been making decisions based on what was right in front of me. I didn’t have the mental space to think about where the business might be in a decade, much less further out. The urgency of now always won. But here’s what I’ve learned: Without a Core Target, even good companies drift. With one, they align. They accelerate. They endure. A strong Core Target should: This isn’t about predicting the future. It’s about committing