In short, it’s a way of managing your company in an entrepreneurial manner so you can take control over your business and core processes while still being able to grow it at the same time. In this blog post, we’ll discuss what makes EOS different from other systems, like SCRUM or Agile development methods, where EOS came from and who uses it today.
Wickman was an entrepreneur who entered the entrepreneurial world at a young age. In his 20s, he came up with EOS after noticing that many of his fellow entrepreneurs lacked confidence, which would lead them to make mistakes in their decision-making processes. He knew there had to be a way for these individuals and businesses to feel confident about their decisions while also giving themselves room for growth when it came time to start taking risks.
As the saying goes, “There is no such thing as greatness without risk-taking!” That being so, Wickman created EOS to empower business owners to take control over their companies and issues while still being able to grow responsibly and become great.
EOS is different from other models because it’s a system that can be used by anyone whether they are in the public or private sector. This means that there are no boundaries on what a person can use EOS for, and all individuals have an equal opportunity to take advantage of this technology.
It also provides a way for entrepreneurs, as well as businesses, that want to adopt its principles and procedural steps, to get up-to-speed with how the company works; this includes knowing about the next steps, so they don’t make any costly mistakes. EOS gives business owners worldwide access without being too expensive upfront which makes it easy for people who might not otherwise have had the chance.
The Entrepreneurial Operating System has been adopted by many companies because of its profound effect on their growth. EOS focuses heavily on comprehensive business strategy and business management theories in order to help entrepreneurs and their entire organizations understand how they can best execute what they want to do while also managing control mechanisms and vision building within their business model; with this, fewer mistakes are made when executing tasks.
EOS Worldwide’s website indicates that more 80,000 companies use their tools or system.
It should be noted that EOS has developed into a much bigger practice over time as more research is done to help bring awareness to its benefits for business leaders, while also continuing to grow the platform through new content that makes sense out of some confusing aspects of executing strategies.
Some of the key principles to understand how EOS works include:
In EOS, there are three different roles that a person can take on -- the entrepreneur (or visionary), the integrator, and the practice leader.
The role of the visionary is to create new ideas for products or services while the operators support them in their endeavors by becoming experts at what they do best. An example would be hiring someone who knows marketing well as your marketing expert.
The role of the practice leader is to help the entrepreneur execute and realize their entrepreneurial vision. An operating system is a set of rules that guide an organization on how to operate or what steps they need to be implemented in order for them to be successful as a business.
In the EOS context, this means practice leaders support the visionary with both entrepreneurship and operational excellence, which means they are able to provide support on all tasks for maximum business growth while also being innovative thinkers. The ecosystem of trust-based relationships between leaders within the company helps ensure its longevity because everyone has an understanding of what needs improvement or change so no one person can bring down the entire company.
In addition, EOS teams have open dialogue about pressing issues and what needs improvement or change so everyone knows where improvements are needed and can work together on team health.
The role of the integrator in an EOS organization is to unite the visionary with the practice leaders. They are experts in both entrepreneurship and operational excellence, which means based on their experiences, they are able to provide support on all tasks for measurable growth and make traction for their business while also being innovative thinkers who focus on achieving their company objectives.
EOS provides an ecosystem of trust-based relationships in which leaders work together as partners instead of competitors because they understand how important collaboration is when scaling their organization's potential over time. As such, EOS teams have open dialogue about what needs improvement or change so everyone is working congruently towards a greater common goal, yet staying focused on their practice area.
The main goal is to figure out how all the workers are going to fit together; the reason behind this is to ensure that no one area goes without support while still allowing people autonomy over what they do within it because as soon as you centralize power "you're just replicating your dysfunction."
A smaller part of EOS is called boulders, rocks, and pebbles.
The goal of this system is not to rank which one should be done first. Instead, the main purpose is to have them laid out, so team members can see their priorities while also visualizing what other necessary work needs to get accomplished and understanding who else might need help with any given task because it's too much for just one person.
The main difference between rocks and typical organizational goals is that there are no set or preconceived ideas for the way an EOS organization needs to be. This opens up a variety of opportunities for companies by allowing them to create their own cultures and systems while still remaining true to themselves.
Since employees aren't confined by these predetermined notions, they're able to focus on what actually works best in their particular work setting with a sense of freedom not afforded in other types of organizations. And because every company has different team members with unique skill sets or backgrounds, successful operations will vary from place-to-place as well.
EOS doesn't have many traditional benchmarks which make it difficult at first glance when trying to determine how the system should work within your organization. This may pose challenges and represents one of the reasons that professional EOS implementers have become popular.
EOS is also meant to help you with the many tasks that are a part of running your business, and not just one step. This system will show you how to do everything from marketing and human resources to finance and sales.
The goal of EOS is for successful businesses to implement all these aspects into their operations so it's more efficient across the board in every area. In contrast, traditional management practices rely on compartmentalized operations in different parts of an organization separately.
One criticism of the system is that it lacks transparency. The company will not release any information on how to become certified in EOS, which for some business owners and entrepreneurs, can be an obstacle because they are unable to learn about what it takes in order to use this system correctly.
Another critique of EOS is that there isn’t enough research done on its effectiveness as a management practice; only FranklinCovey has conducted studies on the efficiency of implementing their practices into other companies while no one else has been able to do so with success yet.
Business owners, entrepreneurial leaders and leadership teams can constitute an obstacle because they are unable to learn about what it takes in order to use this system and business process correctly.
Critics say this could potentially mean trouble for those who adopt it without understanding whether or not these systems work well together and if they actually bring benefits like they claim.
As businesses continue to grow, existing organizational systems are no longer enough. Some startups, entrepreneurs and healthy leadership teams are finding success by implementing the EOS and its core components into their business model for accelerated growth through innovation. To quickly and successfully adopt EOS, many businesses and company leaders have found that hiring a professional EOS implementer is the best way to make sure they have a successful implementation.
EOS Worldwide has a network of certified implementers that must exhibit their proficiency and expertise with all aspects of EOS. They are typically passionate about empowering both people and organizations to be more entrepreneurial.
EOS is an established management methodology that’s gained significant momentum and adoption over the last decade, and it is worthwhile to consider if you’re looking to grow your business by taking on an entrepreneurial and flexible management approach for team achievement.
We hope this article helped you learn about the Entrepreneurial Operating System to better understand the methodology and for consideration of implementation into your organization.
And make sure to check out Breakthrough, the secret ingredient for business success that will help you with scalable growth, execution and consistent traction. Our cutting-edge software will provide you with clear guidelines and practical tools to hit your business goals and keep your company on track.
Sign up for a free trial today.