Have you ever wondered what makes some companies more successful than others? I encounter this question often in my EOS® practice, and I believe one of the strongest success factors is achieving “Shared by All.”
Shared by All is this nuanced, subtle part of the Vision Component®, and it’s the second major discipline, and it’s the one that I think often gets overlooked or neglected because the V/TO® is such a robust tool, but what do you do once you have it? Shared by All is a fundamental concept within EOS, the Entrepreneurial Operating System® framework, specifically in relation to the V/TO (Vision/Traction Organizer®).
It emphasizes the importance of creating a shared understanding and alignment throughout your organization, ensuring that everyone’s on the same page and working toward a common vision. When we talk about the state of the company regarding the V/TO, it refers to the process of regularly reviewing and communicating your organization’s current reality, progress, and goals.
It includes sharing financial information, key metrics, and relevant updates. The State of the Company meeting serves as a platform for transparency, fostering a culture of openness and accountability. During that meeting, you want to share where you’ve been (that is, the past 90 days), where you are right now, and where you’re going in the next 90 days. They’re all linked to your V/TO and referencing your 1-Year Plan.
Now, I want to talk about a distinction. Shared by All is not the same as shared with all. Many people stop short and think that sharing this one time with their entire crew is enough. It doesn’t do any good to work on your V/TO and put all that effort into really creating this amazing transformational vision without repeating yourself often.
“All” means that until everyone owns it, we aren’t there. While shared with all implies information is merely distributed to everyone, Shared by All takes it a step further, signifying that every individual truly understands and embraces that information. And they take ownership and responsibility for their part in achieving your company’s vision and goals.
They can see themselves in that. And if not, they would ask the questions and work with their direct supervisor to say, “Hey, help me see how I fit in this. It’s not clear to me.” It’s not just a passive act of receiving information but truly an active engagement in aligning your actions, your mindset, and your behaviors toward the outcomes you’ve designed.
In essence, Shared by All is about fostering a culture where every single team member understands the organization’s vision, values, and objectives. It encourages open dialogue, collaboration, and collective decision-making. When information is Shared by All, it empowers every employee, every individual connected to your company, and anyone who’s part of your team to contribute their unique perspectives and ideas.
It drives innovation, giving people the empowerment to say, “I can see how.” This kind of thing, whatever it might be, might lead to us getting somewhere sooner, better, faster, more efficiently, more incredibly, and it gives them ownership so that they can come to the table in their Level 10 Meeting™ to effect change – potentially – across your whole organization.
Additionally, Shared by All helps inform your team members of the overarching vision so you can have buy-in and you can foster the decisions made in unison with understanding. It truly makes sense because they see the path, and they see themselves in the picture of it all.
We all want leaders who are concise decision-makers. They get the information they need. They make a decision, and then they create commitment, not consensus. This roadmap, this one-page plan from the V/TO is what we want to get in the hands of every person in the organization, ideally, so that they’re empowered to look up every day and say, “How am I contributing,” or “Where are we misaligned?” and be able to call out the issues and have discussions…
So really, truly, it’s not your vision they’re helping with. It’s our vision. As Henry Ford famously said, “If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said, “Faster horses.” Buy-in is important, but you have to lead your team, have the strength to ask for their commitment, and not worry about creating an agreement.
At the end of the day, it’s the difference between creating an enduring company or just developing a faster horse. By prioritizing Shared by All, any company can unleash the full potential of their teams, aligning efforts and maximizing collective impact. It paves the way for high performance in a united workforce that propels the whole toward the vision with unwavering determination.
Imagine a symphony orchestra performing an incredible piece of music. Every musician holds an essential role. Their instruments are poised, ready to harmonize. What makes any symphony truly remarkable is not just their individual talent. It’s their shared understanding and synchronization across all the musicians.
Shared by All is just like being the symphony’s conductor. The conductor not only shares the sheet music with every player, but they also ignite a deep understanding and passion for the composition within every performer’s heart. When the conductor stands before the orchestra, arms raised, it’s as if they’re holding the collective vision.
And when the song begins, every musician listens intently, connecting their individual talents to the overarching experience. It’s not just about playing the notes well. It’s about feeling the music and expressing it with collaboration, precision, and unity. The conductor ensures every musician understands the music deeply, empowering them to infuse their own expression while staying in perfect harmony with the rest of the orchestra.
Similarly, in organizations using the EOS Shared by All, it is about cultivating a culture where every team member embraces the company’s vision, values, and objectives at a profound level. It’s similar to each person playing their part with passion and purpose, aware of how their contributions fit into the larger scheme of things for the greater good of the company.
When the information is truly Shared by All – like music flowing through every musician’s soul – it creates an organizational symphony of alignment, collaboration, and excellence. Together, your team harmonizes toward success, unlocking the full potential of every individual and delivering a performance that leaves a lasting impact.
When I think about clients that I have who have truly embraced this, they know it’s a daunting task when they begin their journey in EOS. I mean, let’s face it, when you think about the two years on average that it takes to truly implement EOS with the guidance of an Implementer, to be able to do that means repetition. It means we have to tell them, and – as a leadership team – embrace it and be very transparent, open, honest, and vulnerable to have the consistency to admit where we’re making mistakes and where we’ve missed the mark.
It means looking back to say, “Here’s where we really are,” knowing that business is not a straight line. It’s the ups and downs of a roller coaster. When we’re in the downs, we can say, “We’re in this together,” and cultivate that spirit and unity to catalyze us into that future and really talk about where we’re going because we have to remember absolutely no state is permanent…
You won’t be in the highs of the highs forever, and you sure as heck won’t be in the lows of the lows. It’s much better when you go with a team. One of my clients, a manufacturing company, embraces this fully. They’ve taken their V/TO apart, piece by piece. They’ve talked their people through it. They’ve done a mid-manager rollout.
I have gone in and worked with them to give them an overview of EOS. They’ve taken their V/TO, and the entire leadership team has spent time with their next levels of leadership, integrating what it means, painting the picture, giving clear direction, and getting very clear about expectations. They then communicate those expectations often, consistently, and are role models of how to do it. They have their core values on bookmarkers. They have business cards made with their Core Focus™. They have embraced this so significantly that their culture is unified around their V/TO, and they’re straight up about whatever’s going on.
That’s a great example of Shared by All. Don’t settle for shared with all when Shared by All is the magic of making your V/TO come to life.
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