How EOS Supercharged Our Business

Picture this: I’m at a conference last month, talking shop about sales strategies, and I drop a mention of EOS, or the Entrepreneurial Operating System. Next thing I know, I’m swamped with stories of EOS-driven success and a flurry of other folks asking, “What the heck is EOS?” This got me thinking — why not share how EOS transformed K&D Landscaping?

EOS isn’t just a fancy acronym. Gino Wickman, the brain behind it, pitches it as a comprehensive system that steers leaders to better business, control, life balance and overall traction. It’s a business methodology that has helped thousands of companies find the next gear. The best part? It’s about pushing forward together as a unit. Imagine your entire team, leveling up together — that’s EOS for you.

EOS isn’t just about lofty ideals; it’s a practical toolkit. It lays out the groundwork for productive meetings, tracking KPIs, setting quarterly goals (those "rocks" we keep hearing about) and a lot more. It’s like a GPS for decision-making and training your team. I hear far too often that company leaders don’t share their vision with their team and the employees seem to be lacking clear expectations for their roles. EOS helps provide that roadmap, giving your team the confidence and direction they need to succeed.

Let’s rewind to 2015: As the new CEO at K&D, I was eager to build upon what my folks had started. Our coach introduced us to Scaling Up and the Rockefeller Habits. This kick-started our strategy journey, leading to our bold goal (or BHAG) of hitting $30 million by 2030. Fast-forward to 2018, and we pivoted to EOS. Why? It’s simpler, sharper and just gets the job done. For us, this methodology transformed our business and helped us create the company we are today. I truly do not believe we would be here if it was not for the platform EOS helped us create. We’ve even adopted EOS-centric software at K&D — a game-changer for centralizing strategy and keeping score in the business game. And today, here we are, a company tenfold its size than where we were back in 2015.

Thanks to EOS, we’ve customized systems to suit our diverse operations. It’s about empowering each team to make decisions where it matters most. In their weekly L10 meetings, our department teams are able to identify, discuss and solve their own issues. This keeps things moving and increases the ownership around the solution. We have also found people closest to the problem are usually the best at solving it. That’s EOS in action.

Now, let’s talk about the Visionary and Integrator roles. Think of them as the CEO and COO of your EOS journey. Wickman calls this “rocket fuel." I can attest that, when harnessed correctly, this setup will help your business grow rapidly and without as many headaches as your typical structure.

A really neat part of EOS is that it can fit almost any size company. I have heard of startups who utilized EOS to create their company and ran the system with just a few employees and I’ve also seen companies over $1 billion in sales utilize EOS. It’s truly a scalable system that fits a range of businesses.

EOS is a vast topic, too big for just one chat. But I hope this snippet gets you thinking, and maybe even Googling, “What the heck is EOS?” for more. If you’re ever in the mood to talk about EOS, or just want to hear more K&D stories, drop me a line at the email above. Let’s raise the bar together!

Raise the bar is a monthly column by Justin White, CEO of K&D Landscaping, written to help improve professionalism in the green industry. He can be reached at jwhite@giemedia.com.