Welcome to a new series of articles that I'm calling "Strategy Spotlight" because I love alliteration. Also Strategy. I love that most of all.

Strategy Spotlight is a fortnightly series that's going to help to demystify popular business strategy methodologies for early-stage founders and operators like you so you can decide which one works best for you and your business.

There are so many different ways to think about planning and achieving your goals for your business (including my own methodology) and it's overwhelming enough to think about getting all that done without first also having to think about which framework you're using before you can even start.

Thankfully, I've got your back.

Over the next eight weeks, we'll continue to unpack the essentials of five powerful frameworks for company design:

1. Lean Startup

2. EOS (Entrepreneurial Operating System) (this article)

3. Porter's Five Forces

4. Agile, and

5. Six Sigma

In each instalment, I'll dive deep into the origins of these methodologies, outline five key strengths and weaknesses for their application in a startup environment, and offer my perspective on their suitability for businesses of different sizes. Most importantly, I'll provide ten practical questions you can ask yourself to determine if a particular approach is the right fit for your unique company.

The goal is to cut through the jargon and provide you with actionable insights, so that you can make informed strategic decisions, reduce overwhelm, and build a stronger, more resilient business. Let's dive in.

What is the Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS)?

Imagine you have a business that's scaling fast, maybe a bit too fast; the heat is on, you've made big promises, and the initial scrappy, figure-it-out-as-we-go-just-have-another-coffee-babe charm is starting to feel less like excitement and more like anxiety.

That's the kind of environment that sparked the idea for the Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS) in the brain of Gino Wickman, its creator.

In his work with numerous entrepreneurial companies, Wickman noticed the same frustrations popping up again and again and a yearning for more control and more predictable growth. He distilled all these thoughts, and their potential solutions, down into the book Traction: Get a Grip on Your Business, published in 2007, which serves as the foundational text for EOS.

At its heart, EOS is a holistic management system built around six core components:

1. Vision (getting everyone on the same page with where you're going)

   
   

2. People (ensuring you have the right people in the right seats)

   
   

3. Data (tracking key metrics to stay informed)

   
   

4. Issues (identifying and solving problems effectively)

   
   

5. Process (documenting and standardising core processes), and

   
   

6. Traction (instilling discipline and accountability to execute your vision)

For those who love it, the beauty of EOS lies in how these six elements work together; done properly, it can create a framework for clarity, alignment, and execution across the breadth of the organisation.

Why is EOS (the Entrepreneurial Operating System) GOOD for startups?

1. It provides much-needed structure

As a startup grows beyond a handful of people, things can get messy - fast. EOS offers a clear and repeatable framework for meetings, goal-setting, and problem-solving, and all of those can go a long way towards bringing order to the chaos.

2. It forces you to bring clarity to a Vision

Personally, I wouldn't call this 'Vision' so much as 'business fundamentals', but what Wickman calls the 'Vision' component can guide you to define and communicate your core values, your mission, your long-term goals, and your target market - all key for making sure that everyone in the team is pointing in the same direction.

3. It emphasises putting the right people in the right seats

EOS has a strong focus on team structure and ensuring you have the right talent aligned with the right roles and responsibilities. It's easy in the early days to have people who work in the company because they've been there for years, not because they're contributing unique and valuable expertise to a specific part of your growth journey.

4. It creates a culture of accountability

With clear roles, responsibilities, and measurable 'Rocks' (quarterly priorities), EOS goes big on creating a sense of accountability across the breadth of the org - this is excellent for making sure nothing is getting lost to the Bystander Effect.

5. It offers a practical roadmap for scaling

By addressing key areas like process documentation and data tracking early, EOS can help you to build a foundation for sustainable growth and makes future scaling less painful by enabling you to be going into it having already laid the foundations for the path ahead.

Why is EOS (the Entrepreneurial Operating System) BAD for startups?

1. It can feel like overkill for earlier-stage teams.

Specifically, for tiny startups with just a few people, the full EOS framework might feel like unnecessary bureaucracy and too much process too soon, which can get in the way of some of the necessary 'figuring it out' experiments.

2. It requires a significant time commitment to implement properly

Getting EOS up and running and consistently adhering to its principles takes time and dedication from the leadership team, which can be a bit thin on the ground in a startup environment. Perhaps you're first-time founders and managers, perhaps you're just stretched a bit thin - either way, if the principles fall by the wayside you're not going to see the intended benefit.

3. It relies on your team's ability to have honest, sometimes difficult conversations

The 'Issues' component requires a willingness to openly identify and address problems, which can be pretty challenging for teams with nascent communication styles. It can be very easy to erode trust and that trust can be, in turn, incredibly hard to rebuild.

4. It might not be agile enough for extremely rapidly-pivoting startups

While it provides structure, EOS's quarterly 'Rocks' and the annual planning might feel less flexible than the continuous iteration of something like the Lean Startup, particularly in highly volatile or emerging markets.

5. It can feel a bit 'top-down' if not implemented well

If the leadership team isn't careful, EOS can feel like a dictatorial system rather than a collaborative framework. That would be far from ideal in any environment but especially stifling of creativity and input from the broader team in a startup where innovation is so key.

Who is EOS (the Entrepreneurial Operating System) the BEST for?

While very early-stage startups (perhaps just a founder or two) might find EOS a bit premature, it can be a great option for early to mid-stage businesses that are experiencing growing pains.

If you're starting to feel the cracks of rapid growth (communication breakdowns, lack of clear priorities, seeing the same issues again and again) and you're looking for a structured way to gain control and scale effectively, EOS could be a great fit.

It provides the framework to move from reactive firefighting to proactive, intentional growth and while larger companies also successfully implement EOS, its sweet spot is often with entrepreneurial companies in that crucial scaling phase.

Of course, you could also experiment with my favourite framework of all time - yes, my own. I am THAT person.

How can I decide if EOS (the Entrepreneurial Operating System) is right for ME?

Ok, now you're clear on what EOS (the Entrepreneurial Operating System) is from a general perspective, let's figure out if it's right for you and your specific circumstances.

Here are ten questions to ask yourself to figure out if EOS (the Entrepreneurial Operating System) is the right methodology for you:

1. Are you finding that as you grow, things are starting to feel a bit like herding cats, and you're craving a bit more structure?

   
   

2. Is getting everyone on the same page about your company's direction and goals proving to be an uphill struggle?

   
   

3. Do you suspect having a more formal way to track progress and hold folks accountable might be the key?

   
   

4. Are you spending a decent amount of time firefighting the same problems over and over, rather than being able to step back and sort them out properly?

   
   

5. Do you see the value in documenting your core processes, even if it feels a bit like death by admin at the moment?

   
   

6. Are you prepared to commit the time and effort needed by your leadership team to properly implement and stick to the EOS framework?

   
   

7. Would you say your team is generally open to having regular, structured meetings to discuss focus, progress, data, and issues?

   
   

8. Are you looking for a framework that can help you scale your business in a more predictable and controlled manner?

   
   

9. Are you willing to have honest and sometimes a bit uncomfortable conversations to really get to the bottom of your company's challenges?

   
   

10. Do you believe that having a clear operating system could help you get a better grip on your business and achieve more consistent results?

If you can answer 'YES' to a lot of these, then EOS might be a great fit for you.

Take the time to answer these questions honestly. Your answers will give you a good indication of whether the Lean Startup methodology is the strategic sidekick your early-stage business needs.

If you're struggling to answer any of them, or want any additional help, just give me a shout:

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