The Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS), is an awesome framework to manage a growing business. It’s no secret: we love EOS for businesses (especially SMBs) and think it works like a charm to take you from chaos to calm. But, doing an EOS implementation in your business isn’t always easy. Let’s dive into the challenges and how to beat them.
Getting to Know EOS
Getting started with EOS means learning a whole new way of doing things. For SMB employees used to other methods (or no real method at all), this can be tricky. Everyone needs to get on the same page, which means lots of learning sessions and helpful materials about EOS’s main ideas.
The EOS methodology has some important parts like the Vision Traction Organizer (VTO), the Accountability Chart, and the Level 10 Meeting. These might be new to your team, so understanding and using them well will take some time. But introducing these key concepts early on is a great start to getting your team on the same page.
Resources for employees during an EOS implementation
The book Traction by Gino Wickman is obviously the OG for the EOS framework and a great place for people to learn about the EOS process. But for something even simpler and geared toward your employees, we highly recommend What the Heck is EOS, also by Gino Wickman.
It shouldn’t be too hard of a read, or you can get people up on the audiobook version — it’s only 2 hours and 16 minutes long. Even shorter if you like to listen to things on 1.5 speed like us! It is a lot of information, so don’t expect your people to be EOS experts after one read; only the best certified EOS implementers can claim the expert title! But it should be enough to give them a sense of the framework and the “why” behind your EOS implementation.
If you’re a Strety user, you can make To Dos for people to listen to the book so you don’t have to hassle them about it.
Winning Everyone Over
Sometimes, team members might not want to switch to EOS. They might be used to how things are or worry about their jobs. To get past this, include them from the start and show how EOS will make their work and life better, like more balance and clearer goals. If anyone’s worried or confused, talk it out and keep supporting them.
Helping your employees understand your EOS implementation
You can (and should!) have consistent one-on-one meetings with your team, and you can include feedback about your EOS implementation in your discussions. You should talk about your employees’ roles in your new and improved Accountability Chart, your company vision and how their role supports it, and why the metrics chosen for their scorecard are important. People will connect to your EOS implementation more easily when they can really relate it to their daily lives.
Implementing EOS starts and ends with leadership
Leadership backing is also key. When the boss is all-in on EOS, it shows everyone it’s worth doing. If people see their leaders skirting the rules of how EOS should really work or not holding themselves equally accountable, enthusiasm will fizzle. It’s critical to embed authentic leadership into your EOS implementation plans.
Fitting EOS with What You Already Have
Small business teams already have their ways of doing things. Fitting EOS in without causing a mess can be tough. It means looking at how you work now and tweaking things so EOS fits in smoothly. This could mean changing some of your current methods or mixing EOS into them.
Don’t try to do an instant EOS implementation (it won’t work)
When you’re building a business operating system into your existing business, you should start with a few core tools, and expand from there. You should be conscientious and systematic in your approach, and give people time to adjust to a couple new things before trying to shoehorn too much at once.
It might help to engage with an EOS implementer so you have an objective guide helping your team. If you decide to self-implement, this guide for how to build a business operating system could help.
Make sure you have the right tools
This also means making sure EOS works well with the tech tools your team already uses. Obviously we think Strety is the best platform to run EOS, but if you decide to evaluate other EOS softwares, we recommend checking how well they work with your current tech stack.
Will your most important software be integrated with your EOS software? Even better, can you streamline your tech stack with one platform that helps you run EOS plus manage projects, performance, people, playbooks, and surveys? We know of at least one platform that can do it all ☺️
Talking and Working Together Well
Good talk and teamwork are crucial for EOS to work. But if your team is spread out or works from home, this can be harder. You’ll need clear ways to communicate and tools that help everyone work together, like Strety or video calls.
Having regular meetings, like the weekly Level 10 Meeting, helps keep everyone moving in the same direction. Being open and clear with each other builds a teamwork culture.
Keeping EOS Going
Bringing in EOS is just the beginning. You have to keep at it to really see the benefits. This means making EOS a big part of how your team works every day.
Keep reminding everyone about EOS with more training or access to EOS experts in your team. Calling out how EOS helps and fixing challenges will keep it going strong.
By tackling these challenges head-on, SMB teams can successfully implement EOS. This will easily lead to improved performance, increased accountability, and growth.
If you want the best tool to run EOS at your business, you’ve gotta give Strety a try. You can hop in now for 30 days without a credit card, or book time with our team to learn more about exactly how Strety can support your EOS implementation.
