traction-eos

---
name: traction-eos
description: 'Implement the Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS) to align vision and execution across a company. Use when the user mentions "EOS", "Entrepreneurial Operating System", "V/TO", "quarterly rocks", "Level 10 meetings", "accountability chart", "IDS process", "my company feels chaotic", "we keep having the same problems", or "get the whole team aligned". Also trigger when a growing company needs meeting structure, goal-setting frameworks, or a systematic way to solve recurring organizational issues. Covers the six EOS components: Vision, People, Data, Issues, Process, Traction. For team motivation design, see drive-motivation. For lean experimentation, see lean-startup.'
license: MIT
metadata:
  author: wondelai
  version: "1.4.1"
---

# Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS)

A complete system for running a business with six key components. Designed for entrepreneurial companies ($2M-$50M revenue, 10-250 employees) that want to align vision and execution.

## Core Principle

**Most businesses suffer from the same core issues: people, vision, traction.** Great vision without traction is hallucination; traction without vision is aimless. EOS connects the two through a practical weekly operating rhythm that strengthens the Six Key Components of any organization.

## Scoring

**Goal: 10/10.** Score the business by how many of the six Quick Diagnostic rows pass (each component is either in place or not), mapped to the bands below. Bands: **9-10** = all six diagnostic rows pass and rocks consistently hit 80%+ completion; **7-8** = five rows pass, one component weak; **5-6** = three to four rows pass; **3-4** = one to two rows pass; **<=2** = no operating rhythm in place. Always state the current score, the failing diagnostic rows, and the next action for each.

## The Six Key Components

```
Vision → People → Data → Issues → Process → Traction
```

### 1. Vision Component

**Question:** Does everyone in the organization know where you're going and how you plan to get there?

**Tool: Vision/Traction Organizer (V/TO)** — answers eight questions on two pages:

| Question | What It Defines | Example |
|----------|----------------|---------|
| **Core Values** | 3-7 non-negotiable beliefs | "Own it", "Do the right thing", "Grow or die" |
| **Core Focus** | Purpose/cause/passion + niche | "Simplify small business" + "Cloud accounting" |
| **10-Year Target** | Big, hairy, audacious goal | "$100M revenue" or "10,000 customers" |
| **Marketing Strategy** | Target market, 3 uniques, proven process, guarantee | Who you serve, why you're different |
| **3-Year Picture** | What the company looks like in 3 years | Revenue, profit, headcount, key metrics |
| **1-Year Plan** | Revenue, profit, measurables, goals | Specific targets for this year |
| **Quarterly Rocks** | 3-7 priorities for this quarter | Most important things in 90 days |
| **Issues List** | All unresolved obstacles | Problems, ideas, opportunities |

**Process:** Leadership completes the V/TO together (2-day off-site), shares it with the entire organization, reviews quarterly, updates annually.

**Key insight:** If the leadership team can't agree on the V/TO, you have a bigger problem — alignment comes first.

See [references/vto.md](references/vto.md) when filling in the V/TO — the eight-question template and the off-site exercise sequence.

### 2. People Component

**Question:** Do you have the right people in the right seats?

**Tool: Accountability Chart** — not an org chart; it defines the structure and who owns what.

```
Visionary ←→ Integrator
              ├── Sales/Marketing
              ├── Operations
              └── Finance
```

- **Visionary:** Big ideas, culture, key relationships, creative problem solving
- **Integrator:** Runs the business day-to-day, manages the team, executes the vision
- **Rule:** One person per seat — shared accountability is no accountability

**Tool: People Analyzer** — evaluate every person on two dimensions:

1. **Right Person (core values fit):** Rate +, +/-, or - on each core value. Must be "+" on all; one "+/-" is a conversation; any "-" means wrong person.
2. **Right Seat (GWC):** **G**ets it (understands the role), **W**ants it (genuinely), **C**apacity (mental, physical, emotional). Must be "yes" on all three.

**People decisions:**
- Right person, right seat → keep and invest in
- Right person, wrong seat → move to the right seat
- Wrong person, right seat → coach or exit (hardest call)
- Wrong person, wrong seat → exit immediately

See [references/people.md](references/people.md) when building the accountability chart or running People Analyzer — templates plus GWC scoring guidance.

### 3. Data Component

**Question:** Are you managing based on objective data, or subjective opinions?

**Tool: Scorecard** — a weekly report card of 5-15 numbers that tell you how the business is doing. Weekly data spots problems 2-4 weeks earlier than monthly and replaces gut-feel management with accountability.

**Scorecard rules:**
- Activity-based metrics (leading indicators), not results (lagging)
- Weekly numbers — monthly is too slow to react
- Every number has an owner and a goal
- Red/green: on track or off track

**Example:**

| Metric | Owner | Goal | W1 | W2 | W3 | W4 |
|--------|-------|------|----|----|----|----|
| Revenue | Sales Lead | $50K/wk | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ | ✓ |
| New Leads | Marketing | 100/wk | ✓ | ✗ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Cash Balance | Finance | >$200K | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |

**Metric selection:** If you had to go on vacation for 4 weeks, what 5-15 numbers would tell you how the business is doing?

See [references/data.md](references/data.md) when building the scorecard — templates plus how to pick leading-indicator metrics.

### 4. Issues Component

**Question:** Are you identifying, discussing, and solving issues quickly?

**Tool: Issues Solving Track (IDS)** — **I**dentify → **D**iscuss → **S**olve:

1. **Identify:** Ask "Why?" until you reach the root cause (not the symptom); state the issue in one sentence
2. **Discuss:** Everyone gets input (not equal time); stop tangents; one issue at a time, time-boxed 5-15 minutes
3. **Solve:** Make the decision, assign action items (who + what + when), move on

**Three types of issues:**

| Type | Examples | Action |
|------|----------|--------|
| **Problems** | Customer churn, team conflict, outage | IDS → solve |
| **Ideas** | New feature, process change, opportunity | IDS → decide (yes/no/later) |
| **Obstacles** | Blocked rock, resource constraint | IDS → remove or escalate |

**Issues list rules:** Anyone can add issues; prioritize most important first; unsolved issues carry forward — not everything gets solved each meeting.

**Common IDS failures:** discussing symptoms instead of root cause, rehashing the same issue weekly, ending without clear action items.

See [references/issues.md](references/issues.md) when facilitating IDS — a Five Whys worked example and tangent-control tactics.

### 5. Process Component

**Question:** Have you documented and consistently followed your core processes?

**Tool: Core Process Documentation** — the 20/80 rule: document 20% of your processes to get 80% consistency.

**Core processes to identify:** HR (hiring, onboarding, reviews), sales (lead → close), operations (delivery, fulfillment), customer service (support → resolution), finance (invoicing, collections).

**Documentation format:** Name the process, list 5-20 major steps with just enough detail (not a 50-page manual), make it visual where possible.

**Example: Sales Process "The Closer"**
1. Qualify lead (BANT: Budget, Authority, Need, Timeline)
2. Discovery call (30 min, question guide)
3. Demo (customized to their pain points)
4. Proposal (within 24 hours)
5. Follow up (3 touches in 7 days)
6. Close or disqualify

**Followed By All (FBA):** Document it, train on it, measure compliance, update quarterly.

See [references/process.md](references/process.md) when documenting a core process — full templates and a worked HR/sales/ops example.

### 6. Traction Component

**Question:** Are you executing on your vision every day?

#### Rocks (Quarterly Priorities)

The 3-7 most important things to accomplish in the next 90 days. Ninety days is long enough to achieve something meaningful, short enough to maintain urgency.

**Rock-setting process:**
1. Review the V/TO (vision, 3-year, 1-year)
2. Brainstorm what must get done this quarter to stay on track
3. Narrow to 3-7 company rocks, one owner each
4. Each leadership member also sets 3-7 individual rocks
5. Share with the organization and track weekly

**SMART rocks:** Specific ("Launch new pricing page", not "improve pricing"), Measurable (clear completion criteria), Achievable in 90 days, Realistic given resources, Time-bound (due end of quarter).

**Rock scoring:** Done = checked off (no partial credit); not done = carried forward or dropped. Target 80%+ completion. Beware rocks that are just "business as usual" — they don't move the needle.

See [references/rocks.md](references/rocks.md) when setting quarterly rocks — the binary done-test, the nine-row mistakes table, and a mid-quarter check-in.

#### Level 10 Meeting (Weekly Leadership Meeting)

**The most important meeting in EOS.** Every week, same day, same time, same agenda — 90 minutes, never longer.

| Time | Section | Purpose |
|------|---------|---------|
| 5 min | **Segue** | Good news, personal and professional |
| 5 min | **Scorecard** | Review weekly numbers |
| 5 min | **Rock Review** | On track / off track per rock |
| 5 min | **Headlines** | Customer/employee quick updates |
| 5 min | **To-Do List** | Last week's to-dos: done or not done |
| 60 min | **IDS** | Identify, Discuss, Solve issues |
| 5 min | **Conclude** | Recap to-dos, rate meeting 1-10 |

**Rules:**
- Starts and ends on time — protecting the rhythm is what makes it work
- No phones/laptops (except the agenda) — IDS needs full attention
- IDS gets 60 of 90 minutes — solving issues is the point, updates are not
- Rate the meeting 1-10 at the end (hence "Level 10"); below 8 means discuss what to improve
- To-dos are 7-day action items with an owner; done = 100% complete; target 90%+ completion

See [references/level-10.md](references/level-10.md) when running or fixing a Level 10 — facilitation script and how to interpret the meeting rating.

## EOS Implementation Timeline

Typical rollout: 2 years to full implementation.

| Phase | Timeline | Focus |
|-------|----------|-------|
| **Focus Day** | Day 1 (8 hours) | Accountability chart, rocks, scorecard, Level 10 |
| **Vision Building Day 1** | Month 1 | V/TO: core values, core focus, 10-year target |
| **Vision Building Day 2** | Month 2 | V/TO: marketing strategy, 3-year, 1-year, rocks |
| **Quarterly Sessions** | Every 90 days | Review rocks, set new rocks, IDS major issues |
| **Annual Planning** | Yearly | Full V/TO review, 1-year plan, Q1 rocks |

**Self-implementation** (read the book, follow the tools — free, slower) vs. **EOS Implementer** (certified facilitator — faster, expensive).

See [references/implementation.md](references/implementation.md) when planning the rollout — phase-by-phase sequencing and the self-vs-Implementer decision. For examples of how real companies sequenced it, see [references/case-studies.md](references/case-studies.md).

## Organizational Checkup

Rate the company 1-5 on each statement:

| Component | Statement | Score (1-5) |
|-----------|-----------|-------------|
| **Vision** | Leadership team agrees on where we're going and how to get there | |
| **People** | We have the right people in the right seats | |
| **Data** | We manage from a weekly scorecard of 5-15 numbers | |
| **Issues** | We solve issues quickly and permanently | |
| **Process** | Core processes are documented and followed by all | |
| **Traction** | We set and achieve 90-day priorities (rocks) | |

**Scoring:** 25-30 strong (fine-tune) | 20-24 good (close gaps) | 15-19 average (significant work) | below 15 weak (consider an EOS Implementer).

## Common Mistakes

| Mistake | Why It Fails | Fix |
|---------|-------------|------|
| **Skipping Level 10s** | Weekly rhythm lost, issues pile up | Protect the meeting, never cancel |
| **No scorecard** | Managing by gut, constant surprises | Choose 5-15 weekly numbers |
| **Wrong people kept** | Drags the entire team down | People Analyzer, make the tough calls |
| **V/TO not shared** | Team doesn't know the vision | Share with the entire company |

For rock-specific mistakes (too many, too vague, business-as-usual, mid-quarter changes), see [references/rocks.md](references/rocks.md) — full nine-row table with fixes.

## Quick Diagnostic

| Question | If No | Action |
|----------|-------|--------|
| Does leadership agree on vision? | Misalignment | Complete the V/TO together |
| Right people in right seats? | Performance issues | People Analyzer on all seats |
| Managing from data weekly? | Reactive management | Build a weekly scorecard |
| Issues solved permanently? | Same problems repeat | IDS in Level 10s |
| Core processes documented? | Inconsistency | Document the top 5 processes |
| 90-day priorities set and tracked? | No traction | Set quarterly rocks |

## Further Reading

For the complete system:

- [*"Traction: Get a Grip on Your Business"*](https://www.amazon.com/Traction-Get-Grip-Your-Business/dp/1936661837?tag=wondelai00-20) by Gino Wickman
- [*"Get a Grip"*](https://www.amazon.com/Get-Grip-Entrepreneurial-Fable-Business/dp/1939529824?tag=wondelai00-20) by Gino Wickman & Mike Paton (EOS as a business fable)
- [*"Rocket Fuel"*](https://www.amazon.com/Rocket-Fuel-Essential-Combination-Business/dp/1941631150?tag=wondelai00-20) by Gino Wickman & Mark C. Winters (Visionary + Integrator relationship)

## About the Author

**Gino Wickman** is the creator of EOS and founder of EOS Worldwide, a community of certified Implementers. *Traction* has sold over 2 million copies, and EOS is used by more than 250,000 companies worldwide. His work focuses on the practical tools entrepreneurial leadership teams need to get real traction.