My Guest

Over the past handful of years, there has been substantial growth in the number of companies who have decided to implement formal “operating systems” to govern certain strategic and operational decisions within their businesses.
I implemented EOS (or “the Entrepreneurial Operating System”) in my own company beginning in 2015, and we continued to operate under its various principles and structures until successfully selling the company in late 2020. Based on that first-hand experience, I thought it would be worthwhile to dig into a number of recurring FAQs that I often receive from other CEOs who are considering implementing an operating system within their own companies.
To help me work through these FAQs, I was joined by Alex Hodgkin. In addition to being an entrepreneur and CEO himself, Alex also co-founded the Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition program at the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business. Currently, Alex runs his own business specifically to help small business CEOs implement the Entrepreneurial Operating System.
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Installing an Operating System in Your Business: Lessons from Real EOS Implementations – In The Trenches
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Episode Summary with Timestamps
- 00:00 Career Journey and Background
- 06:10 Understanding Operating Systems
- 09:07 Exploring Different Operating Systems
- 12:24 When Not to Implement an Operating System
- 15:22 Core Components of EOS
- 18:13 The Importance of Clear Vision and Accountability
- 21:26 Implementing an Operating System
- 24:16 The Role of an EOS Implementer
- 29:56 Implementing EOS with Precision
- 35:13 The Role of Technology in EOS
- 39:30 Managing Resistance to EOS
- 45:11 Understanding Visionary and Integrator Roles
- 48:44 The Pitfalls of Partial Implementations
- 51:59 Harmonizing EOS with Board Meetings
- 54:03 Lessons Learned from Teaching
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