Harnessing the power of EOS® and the 90-Day World™
The second week of February.
According to U.S. News & World Report, that is when 80% of the people who SET New Year’s resolutions GIVE UP on their New Year’s resolutions. The reasons (and purported cures) are numerous, but this inability to sustain effort and commitment toward one or more big goals is simply human nature.
Discovering the 90-Day World™
This is also true in business, as Gino Wickman discovered while observing his own leadership team (and those of many other entrepreneurial companies) and wrote about in Traction. No matter how aligned he and his fellow leaders might have been after a great Annual Planning or Quarterly Pulsing™ session, Gino noticed that 90 days later “you will get far off track, start to lose great people, lose sight of your vision, and end up right back where you started – in chaos.”
Rather than fighting it or getting frustrated, Gino built this discovery into EOS®.
“If this is the way all humans and all teams operate,” he thought… “let’s just pull the team together every 90 days. Lock the doors, and not let anyone leave until they’re 100% on the same page, clear on their priorities, and ready to go execute like crazy for the next 90 days.”
Lather, rinse, repeat.
Mastering The 90-Day World™
A professional EOS Implementer® can provide the valuable training and guidance needed to create The 90-Day World™ in your entrepreneurial organization. As expert teachers, coaches and facilitators, your EOS Implementer will lead your Quarterly Pulsing™and Annual Planning sessions, as well as work with you to improve your Weekly Meeting Pulse, so that your organization can stay disciplined and laser-focused on hitting your numbers, completing Goals, Rocks and ToDos, and achieving your company’s vision.
The Pulse Of The 90-Day World™
The result is a two-part Meeting Pulse™ that both creates a 90-Day World™for your organization AND helps keep people and teams focused, disciplined, and accountable DURING the quarter.
For now, let’s focus on the Quarterly Meeting Pulse and Rocks. Here’s how to use these tools and disciplines to channel human nature to get vastly better results:
- Meet offsite with your leadership team four times each year.
- Once per year, make that meeting a two-day Annual Planning Session. Over two powerful days, your team will increase team health, get clear and aligned around the company’s vision, set a great plan for next year and next quarter, and have plenty of time to resolve any and all key issues.
- The other three times per year, conduct a Quarterly Pulsing Session. Start with a review of last quarter’s results (so you can celebrate success, learn from mistakes, and smoke out issues). Re-check the company’s vision – are you all still 100% on the same page? If so, set a plan for next quarter (including measurables and Rocks, described below). The finish the day by resolving all your key Issues.
- When setting Rocks, you’re determining, defining, and aligning around priorities for the coming 90 days. Start by setting Company Rocks, the 3-7 things that are most important to the company right now. Write them SMART and assign an owner. Once you’re clear on the company’s priorities, you can set Individual Rocks, the 3-7 most important things for each member of your team to get done this quarter.
Simply repeat this Meeting Pulse forever.
Every 90 days, just as human nature kicks in and “the rope begins to fray,” you and your team come together to get clear, aligned, and back on track. In just seven hours (plus or minus an hour), you reconnect with the company’s vision, set 3-7 priorities for the company (and for each member of your team), and resolve your most pressing issues.
You’ll walk out re-energized, refocused, and ready to execute for another ninety days.
That’s what the “90-Day World™” looks and feels like. It will immediately help you stay more focused and get better results than the typical resolution-setter. Instead of giving up on YOUR goals every year, master this discipline and achieve your vision. [tweetquote]
Next Steps
- Unlock the EOS Toolbox to download a copy of the Meeting Pulse Tool
- Watch this helpful video on leading world-class meetings
- Download a free chapter of Traction by Gino Wickman
