Frequently asked questions

What leaders usually want to know about EOS, fit, and how the work unfolds.

About EOS

What is EOS?

EOS, the Entrepreneurial Operating System®, is a set of simple, practical tools that help a leadership team get clear on where the organization is going, execute against that plan every week, and work together as a healthy team. It gives everyone a common language for vision, execution, and accountability. Despite the name, it isn’t only for for-profit entrepreneurs. It was built for organizations, and nonprofits use it just as well.

What does a Certified EOS Implementer do?

I teach your leadership team the EOS tools, facilitate full-day sessions where you put them to work, and coach the follow-through between sessions. My job is to name what the team already knows but won’t say, and to hold everyone, including me, accountable to the process. The goal is a team that runs the system on its own. When that happens, you may “graduate,” though many of my clients find it productive for me to facilitate their quarterly sessions. It depends on what’s right for you.

How is this different from traditional strategic planning?

As a CEO, I read 15 of the 17 strategic plans from peer organizations in my association. None of them guided how the team actually executed. Traditional planning produces a document. Dynamic Strategic Planning, teaching the EOS tools fully as intended, builds a rhythm: weekly, quarterly, and annual. We start with accountability and execution, and build the one-page plan once the team is running. The plan stays alive because the team uses it every week.

Does EOS work for nonprofits?

Yes. EOS is a set of tools built for organizations, not just for-profits. I lived it as a nonprofit CEO from 2018 to 2022, first self-implementing and then with an Implementer. Nonprofits need a few real adaptations: a Scorecard that tracks mission alongside operations, language that works for a board (fundraising instead of, or in addition to, sales), and vision work rooted in mission and identity. Those are adaptations, not workarounds.

Fit

Who do you work with?

Nonprofit leadership teams first. Then partner-governed, board-governed, and founder-led companies. Most have roughly 10 to 200+ staff, and some of my current clients are much larger. What they share is complexity: many stakeholders, layers of governance, and too many decisions still routing through the person at the top.

Do you only work with organizations in Denver?

No. I’m based in Denver and work with organizations throughout Colorado and across the country. Every session is a full day. For teams already working hybrid or remote, sessions can be held virtually. Out-of-town session days carry a flat travel fee, so there are no receipts or reimbursements to manage.

How do I know if my organization is ready?

If the same problems keep cycling, your team is talented but not functioning as one, and decisions keep finding their way back to your desk, you’re likely ready. The leaders who do the best work here wake up asking how they can be better. The Painpointing Assessment™ is a good first step. It takes 10 to 15 minutes and shows where your organization’s rebuild should begin.

Do you work with small nonprofits?

It depends. Some of my clients are that size. Size matters less than whether your leadership team is ready to do the work together. If the same problems keep cycling and decisions keep finding their way back to you, that warrants a conversation.

The engagement

What happens in the first year?

Five full-day sessions. It starts with a Focus Day, where we build the Accountability Chart (one owner per seat), set the first 60 days of priorities, and install the weekly leadership meeting. Two Vision Building days follow, producing a one-page strategic plan the whole team can see themselves in. After the second Vision Building day, priorities move to a 90-day rhythm, and two quarterly sessions keep it running. For organizations with boards, board training comes the month after the second Vision Building day, and a full-day board retreat can be added.

How long does EOS implementation take?

Most teams have the full rhythm running within six to twelve months. From there, the work becomes quarterly and annual sessions until the team owns the system and all the tools are taught. We meet for approximately 10 to 12 sessions in total, more if you want me to keep facilitating quarterly meetings.

What does my leadership team commit to?

Showing up fully. That means a full day together each session, with the whole leadership team present. It means running the weekly meeting between sessions, owning your priorities, and keeping the Scorecard honest. The team does the work. I make sure the tools land and the process holds.

Do you work with our board?

Yes. Boards are where many nonprofits and governed companies get stuck, so it’s part of the work. I run two full-day board retreats: one that installs governance for boards of current EOS clients, and one that introduces EOS and vision work to a board for the first time.

Investment and next steps

How much does EOS implementation cost?

It depends on your organization and the shape of the work. Engagements are priced by the full-day session, not by retainer, and your rate stays the same for the first 24 months. We talk about the fee directly once we both know it’s a fit. You’ll know the session fee, the structure, and the timeline before you commit to anything.

What happens in the first conversation?

It’s about fit, for both of us. In about 30 minutes, we talk through what’s actually happening in your organization, what you’ve already tried, and what you hope becomes possible. Then one of three things happens: it’s clearly a fit, it’s clearly not and I tell you directly, or we need one more conversation. No pressure, only honesty.

What is the Painpointing Assessment?

A 10 to 15 minute assessment that shows which of three root causes is most constraining your organization right now: Vision, Execution, or Diagnostic capacity. It measures how severe each problem is and how often it shows up. Several members of your team can take it, and you can retake it a few quarters later to see what changed. Results come with a free 30-minute consultation. Take the Painpointing Assessment.

Can I get a free copy of Traction?

Yes. Traction by Gino Wickman is the book behind EOS, and I’m glad to send you a copy at no cost. Request it on the Free Book page and it arrives as an Amazon gift, so there’s no mailing address to fill out.

Still have a question?

The first conversation is about fit, for both of us.

Start the conversation →