EOS makes three promises:
- Vision: Alignment throughout the company
- Traction: Accountability and discipline
- Healthy: A sustainable culture
EOS delivers on those promises because it’s based on the principles of building habits with employees. Simplicity and sustainability make EOS so powerful, as witnessed by its phenomenal success. The underlying principles of habit formation contained in the book, Atomic Habits by James Clear explain why.
Those principles are embedded in the foundational tools of EOS:
- IDS™ – three clear steps to solve issues, quick reward in 7 days, and recognition in the L10 meeting
- Rocks™ – created each and every quarter, a mandated duration of 90 days, clear and specific outcomes, and visibility to the entire company
- Meeting Pulse – the weekly satisfaction of knowing what’s going on (feeling a part of the community) and resolving important issues (big payoff)
- Living the Values – telling stories (which creates community and peer pressure), reinforcement at quarterly meetings, and consequences if people don’t live those values
- Processes – the habitual way we conduct our operations
Leaders and managers play key roles in building habits. Goals and big initiatives are important but insufficient. Without the underlying foundation of habits, they require a constant infusion of energy to sustain them.
The ongoing achievement of objectives requires discipline and accountability. That’s what EOS delivers – it’s our secret sauce.