You Cannot Build a Great Organization on Multiple Operating Systems—You Must Choose One

The above title is our EOS Creed. Simply put, if you want a great enduring company, everyone on your leadership team must speak the same language and play by the same rules.

I’ve seen too many businesses where highly talented new hires are allowed to do things their own way, mergers and acquisitions that force multiple differing approaches to compete with each other, and stubborn business owners who won’t play by the rules. These are all examples of not running on one operating system, and they are less effective.

Having experienced this dynamic with over 120 companies intimately, I’ve learned that, in the long run, a team of average people operating on one operating system and all speaking the same language will outproduce a team of above-average people who are all doing and saying it their own way.

So, whether you have five people or 1000 people, the question is, are you all consistently following the processes, using the same terminologies, meeting on the same pulse, prioritizing the same way, selling the same, and delivering the same? The mantra should be one system, one vision, one team, one voice. That’s how sports teams win, and that’s how companies win.

There are hundreds of systems to choose from, or you can create your own. We’re partial to The Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS); regardless, you must choose one.