Every EOS® Step, Explained

August 19, 2020

Learn the six steps of the Entrepreneurial Operating System® (EOS) and how to use them when planning for business growth

The Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS) is used by founders and businesses to improve processes and set up a successful path to long-term growth. The concepts and tools presented in EOS help teams become more aligned and enable a company to identify and harness its strengths and weaknesses. 

EOS can be broken down into six key steps: vision, people, data, issues, processes, and traction. Here’s what you need to know about how they play out in practice. 

 1. Vision

Part of creating a successful growth plan is making sure all team members are on the same page. By defining a clear vision—a statement that aligns your company’s mission, core values, purpose, and goals—and communicating it across your company, your people will come together to work toward shared objectives. 

Start by assessing your organization:

  • What are your strengths and weaknesses?
  • What makes you unique?
  • What are your problem areas?
  • What are your long-term goals? 
  • Who do you serve, and why?

Asking these questions will help you nail down your purpose and vision and put it into words. 

 2. People

Of course, you won’t get anywhere without the right people behind your brand. Make sure you’re surrounding yourself with individuals who will help you fulfill your vision. They need to be driven, capable, and passionate about what your company is doing.

Start with your recruiting process. Create screening questions and interview topics that show you not only a person’s qualifications and experience but their commitment to the same concepts that your company is all about. Focus on more of a culture-fit interview style when hiring, and less on a strict resume review. 

Paying closer attention to the people you bring on board will help you create teams that align on goals and values, and employees will be more likely to stick around. Use the EOS People Analyzer to identify if someone will fit in with your culture and be the right person in the right seat.

 3. Data

It’s not enough to hire the right people who all follow the same vision and core values. To grow and improve the business, you need to analyze real numbers that gauge your efforts’ success. Using data to drive your decisions, you can avoid guesswork and use facts to keep moving forward. 

Understand the numbers behind the business by putting data-gathering and analytics processes in place. You can view areas of weakness, such as slow response times or low sales numbers during certain times of the month. This gives you the power to address the problem where it starts and opens up opportunities for remedies like further training and process improvement.

 4. Issues

Success can’t happen without failure. Along your journey, and you and your team will face obstacles and challenges. There’s no avoiding it. But if you recognize this now, you can create plans for problem-solving that will help you get through those tougher times. 

Start by accepting these issues, instead of denying their existence. Embrace the mindset that you can learn from mistakes. Instead of punishing someone who takes a misstep, present the situation as a learning opportunity that everyone can benefit from.

 5. Process

Your day-to-day workflows drive results, and all systems should all be geared toward the same goals. Identify your core processes—those that directly impact outcomes and keep the business running. Ensure that your processes are consistent and robust, as this is the only way you’ll be able to scale.

People involved in each process should know their role in both the specific procedure and where that role fits into the overall business. This gives them a sense of purpose, both on a granular level and a big-picture scale. 

 6. Traction

Don’t get caught up in a lofty vision for your brand without evaluating how you’ll get there. Create traction by making your goals a reality with small steps that lead to substantial outcomes and successes. 

Creating traction starts with implementing practices for accountability and discipline into all of your teams. Stress efficiency and cut out tasks or processes that don’t serve your objective. Traction is about executing daily goals and operational tasks that lead to faster and continuous forward movement.

The benefits of mastering the six EOS steps

When you’re able to take these steps—fully implementing the EOS principles—your business sees the following benefits:

  • Use a holistic model that strengthens the entire business, not just one aspect or department.
  • Get to the root of your problems to better address them—permanently.
  • Apply essential tools and concepts that you can use for years to come.
  • Foster focus, discipline, and accountability across your teams.
  • Assess and identify what’s most important about your company. 
  • Create better goals using actual numbers that define business performance. 
  • Improve productivity and work quality by delegating the right tasks.
  • Experience consistent growth and increased revenue.

At Provident CPA & Business Advisors, we help small businesses master the concepts and tools in EOS. We start the process with a free 90-minute meeting, which helps us understand your organization and customize the system to your company. Contact Provident to learn more about our growth and profit improvement services. 

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