If you’re driven and ambitious, chances are you have a long to-do list and not enough time to get everything done. This is completely normal—and honestly, a sign you’re on the right path.
Linus Pauling, the Nobel-winning chemist, once said, “The best way to have a good idea is to have a lot of ideas.”
The same applies to your business: The more tasks you handle, the more opportunities there are to move your company forward. But the downside is that the busier you get, the more you’ll have to say “no” to. The more decisions you make, the more you’re cutting off alternative options.
Cutting Off Alternatives
The word decision comes from the Latin word decidere, meaning “to cut off.” Every time you make a decision, you’re eliminating other possibilities. For instance, when you get married, you’re not just adding a partner—you’re choosing them instead of other romantic options.
This concept is essential in business because we often confuse decisions with just good intentions. We fail to see the hidden costs—what we have to let go of in order to focus on our new goals.
Let’s say you want to write a book and decide to wake up at 4 am every day. Your real decision isn’t just getting up early—it’s choosing to go to bed at 9 pm instead of checking emails, having a drink with your spouse, or binge-watching shows on Netflix. Waking up early is a result of your bigger decision to eliminate other activities that take up your time.
EOS Prioritizes Rocks
So, how does all this translate into your business, and how does the Entrepreneurial Operating System® help with prioritization?
One of EOS’s foundational tools is Rock Setting. A Rock is a major business project that’s important but not necessarily urgent. It typically requires at least 6-10 hours of focused effort to complete—something that can’t be done as part of your regular business day.
With EOS, you and your leadership team brainstorm all potential projects that could help grow your business—like hiring a CFO, rolling out new software, or implementing EOS itself. My clients often list out 30 to 50 projects they would like to commit to.
It’s easy to get excited about these “Rocks” and mentally commit to them, since they hold great potential for growth.
But here’s the catch: Most of us can only focus on 1-4 Rocks per quarter. Take on too many, and something will inevitably slip—like prospecting, coaching your team, or following up with key clients. Unfortunately, the impacts of neglect often aren’t obvious until it’s too late: growth stalls, a key employee leaves, or an important client goes elsewhere. That’s when the damage becomes hard to repair.
Breaking It Down
This is where the Summit OS® Rock-Step Planner™ becomes invaluable. Instead of letting these Rocks become overwhelming or neglected, the planner helps break each project into actionable steps, complete with deadlines and ownership. This structured approach ensures the most important Rocks are tackled systematically, without losing focus on day-to-day operations.
The Need for a Prioritization Process
You might think you’re already managing Rocks without a process, but without prioritization, decisions are often made in isolation. You might get excited about launching a new marketing campaign, but it could be less important than onboarding a new client or fixing a broken process. You’ll only know which Rocks truly matter when you compare all of them at the same time.
So, how does an EOS Implementer® help you prioritize? We do this by brainstorming and listing all the potential projects for your business, then pushing you to cut the list down to a few of the most important “Rocks” that your team can fully commit to accomplishing in the next quarter.
This will be a painful process, forcing you to give up or delay other exciting projects. But the reward is knowing that your team has chosen the most important Rocks for the next 90 days—and will be fully accountable for executing them 100%.
Why Prioritizing Rocks Matters
A leadership team of five executives can typically commit to and accomplish 7-15 Rocks per quarter. That means over the next 12 months, you could complete 28 to 60 key projects—without neglecting your day-to-day operations. Wouldn’t that create some traction for you in 2025?
Want to learn more about how EOS can help you prioritize and gain traction? Sign up for Steve’s VIP list or register for a Traction Tasting breakfast today!
