Switching from EOS: what you keep and what changes

I want to make sure I say this first. I like EOS®. It’s the category leader for small businesses, and it’s extremely effective. If you’re a small business owner, going from nothing to EOS is an excellent thing. A lot of businesses don’t run on any system at all.

I was first introduced to it at an automotive parts manufacturer, where we hired an implementer and I was the integrator. Later I self-implemented it at an investment research firm. Eventually I moved away from it completely, for practical reasons. I was using it in the business, and there were things I didn’t like. I just think it’s old school, and there’s a better way to do it today.

What I kept

• One owner for everything. The idea is that if multiple people own it, nobody owns it. I completely agree. In Unbreakable OS every priority has one owner.
• Putting the big rocks in first. Decide what the most important things are. I like the idea. I just run it every month.
• Working back from a long-term vision. Think about where you want to be in ten years, then back it all out to this year’s goals.
• Numbers, not opinions. Your goals are objective, and every priority ends executed or failed.

What I changed

Rocks™ became monthly cycles. A quarter is way too long. People don’t work on their rocks until the last two or three weeks, so you have two and a half months of wasted time. And you only get four at-bats a year. With monthly cycles, you get twelve, and you can pivot.

The weekly Level 10 Meeting™ became a weekly written update. Ninety minutes every week, mostly spent working through an issues list, turns into a complaining session. I shouldn’t have to have a meeting to hear you say the words "on track". Now the owner of each priority gives a quick update every week: what got done, is it on course or deviating. I just got ninety minutes back. If issues come up, pick up the phone.

The quarterly planning day became one monthly decision meeting. Three minutes to pitch, seven to discuss, one to decide. We don’t need hours of conversation to plan rocks. We all just need to know where we are going, and then gatekeep to make sure the work is moving us toward those goals.

The idea filter became a system. In EOS, bad ideas still get in because the only filter for them is a conversation in a meeting. What happens if you’re not there? Now every idea is pitched in writing and goes through an AI gatekeeper before it reaches the room. Leaders still make every decision.

The implementer became optional. I didn’t like paying somewhere between seven and a half and ten thousand dollars to have somebody facilitate meetings and tell me what I could read in the book. I built my system so you can implement it yourself.

I shouldn’t have to have a meeting to hear you say the words “on track.”

How to switch

1. Take your one-year goals and turn them into your Big Three: one objective goal each for growth, finance and operations.
2. Let this quarter’s rocks finish. Then have your team pitch next month’s ideas.
3. Run your first decision pitch meeting at the end of the month.
4. Drop the weekly meeting and use weekly updates for a month. See how much time you get back.
5. At month end, mark every priority executed or failed. That’s your first execution rate.

Who should switch

If you’ve used EOS for any period of time, you’ve probably made your own Frankenstein version of it. You grabbed this and you grabbed that. If it’s working, great. If your meetings have turned into complaining sessions, or everything still gets done in the last few weeks of the quarter, it’s time for something faster.

Even if you don’t use our software, just apply new execution strategies to your business and you will see it change.

EOS® and Traction® are registered trademarks, and Rocks™ and Level 10 Meeting™ are trademarks, of EOS Worldwide, LLC. Unbreakable OS is not affiliated with or endorsed by EOS Worldwide.

Adam WeisnerFounder of Unbreakable OS and an active CEO who runs real companies on it.