In every small to mid-sized business, strategy without alignment is like a high-performance car without fuel—it might look impressive, but it won’t get far. If your strategy only lives in the CEO’s head (or in a slide deck somewhere), you don’t have a strategy—you have a wish.
That’s why I love the EOS® framework from Traction. It forces strategy out of the clouds and into daily execution. While there are many concepts and tools in this framework, there are four concepts I want to highlight because as a CEO, I have found them particularly important to achieving alignment.
1️⃣ 1:1s – Connect people to what matters most, providing space for performance feedback.
2️⃣ Team Meetings – Keep accountability alive and decisions moving.
3️⃣ Rocks – Turn big goals into quarterly deliverables.
4️⃣ Communication Pulse – Keep everyone engaged with consistency and structure.
When everyone knows the plan and their role in it, strategy stops being “leadership’s thing” and becomes everyone’s thing. When we weave together four key EOS-inspired practices—1:1 meetings, team meetings, Rocks, and a consistent communication cadence (frequency and structure)—we create a powerful engine for strategic alignment.
- 1:1s: Keeping People and Priorities Connected
Regular 1:1 meetings between leaders and their direct reports keep individuals connected to the bigger picture. These conversations are not about micromanaging—they’re about clarifying expectations, removing obstacles, and ensuring personal priorities stay aligned with company Rocks.
By giving space for two-way feedback, 1:1s reinforce trust, surface issues early, and ensure everyone knows where they stand. In EOS language, this keeps the Right People in the Right Seats engaged and focused.
- Team Meetings: Creating Clarity and Traction
The EOS Meeting Pulse™—specifically the Level 10 Meeting™—is a proven framework for keeping teams aligned and accountable. In a well-run team meeting:
- The vision is reinforced.
- Priorities are reviewed.
- Issues are identified and solved.
- Metrics are monitored.
The consistent rhythm of these meetings means strategy is not a once-a-year exercise but an ongoing, living conversation. Teams leave each meeting knowing exactly who owns what and by when.
- Rocks: Turning Strategy into Action
Rocks are the 90-day priorities that bridge long-term vision and short-term execution. Without them, strategy often lives in a binder on a shelf instead of in the daily decisions of your team.
When Rocks are well-defined, visible to all, and consistently reviewed in meetings, they provide the common language for progress. Everyone knows the “big things” we must accomplish this quarter to move the business forward. As EOS emphasizes, what gets measured gets done.
- The Communication Pulse: Keeping Energy and Focus High
Even with strong 1:1s, team meetings, and Rocks, alignment can drift if communication is sporadic. EOS calls for a Communication Pulse—a regular cadence of information sharing that keeps vision, priorities, and progress visible to all.
This can include:
- Weekly 1:1s between an employee and their manager;
- Weekly or biweekly team huddles; and
- Quarterly State of the Union team meetings.
A consistent communication rhythm reduces confusion, reinforces priorities, and creates a culture where everyone can see how their work contributes to the bigger picture.
Bringing It All Together
When these four practices work in harmony:
- 1:1s keep individuals engaged and focused on what matters.
- Team meetings ensure alignment and problem-solving at the group level.
- Rocks translate strategic goals into actionable priorities that are measured.
- The Communication Pulse keeps the whole organization informed and energized.
As CEOs and leaders, our role is not to be the “keeper” of the strategy—it’s to make the strategy everyone’s job. These EOS inspired practices provide repeatable management system that help teams get on the same page, stay on the same page, and execute with discipline and accountability.
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Shannon Kavanaugh
Andie Reed : Apr 12, 2021 9:00:00 PM
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