EOS Core Values and Core Focus: Turning Wall Art into a Scorecard Row

Two Questions the VisionTraction Organizer Opens With

Many companies display their values on wall arts hung on their office walls, although these phrases do not generally have an impact on their hiring, leadership, or daily decisions. In the long run, values become nothing but a decoration and not a guideline for how the company operates.

This is where EOS core values and core focus EOS come in. These aspects of the Entrepreneurial Operating System help management teams define the behavior patterns that form company culture and goals that pinpoint their purpose of being in business. When applied regularly, core values and core focus become effective instruments for improving people's and companies' choices.

Core Values Vs Core Focus

The top half of the V/TO

The Vision/Traction Organizer (V/TO) begins with two questions: Who are we? and What do we do best? The guidelines provided by EOS core values will respond to the first question, while the EOS core focus will answer the second one. Both of these concepts will help with recruiting, strategizing, and planning for growth in the long run.

Core values how you behave

EOS core values define the expected behavior of every person in the organization. By defining core values, an organization needs to describe actions that people undertake daily instead of vague concepts that can be used by any organization.

Core focus why you exist and your niche

The concept of core focus EOS concentrates on the purpose of your organization in line with its area of expertise. This enables you to concentrate only on the right opportunities when making choices. The core focus concept is in line with the hedgehog EOS concept, which means specializing in your strengths, too.

Why both are discovered, not invented

Why do we state that they are discovered, not invented? Effective core values and core focus are not generated during brainstorming sessions; they are discovered through effective observation of what your best employees do, what your relations with customers are like, and what your company can do all the time.

One Defines Behaviour. One Defines the Boundary.

Core values and core focus at a glance

	Core Values	Core Focus
The V/TO question	Who are we?	What do we do best?
What it defines	How every person in the organization behaves, day to day	Why you exist, and the niche where you perform best
How it is found	By observing the traits your best people share	By naming your purpose and your area of expertise
How many	3 – 7 values	One purpose, one niche
Where it is applied	Hiring, onboarding, coaching, reviews, and the weekly	Every important opportunity, Rock, and strategy
The related idea	The People Analyzer	The hedgehog concept

Discovering The Values You Already Live

Name your best people

First, you should discover the employees who represent your company at a certain level of excellence. These employees may not be your top performers, but they embody the culture of the organization, and they have their team’s trust and make the right decisions all the time. These individuals clearly demonstrate your company’s EOS core values on a day-to-day basis much better than any mind mapping process would accomplish.

List the traits they share

Look for the common behaviors these employees display. Can they responsibly handle issues without being told? Are they honest in their communication, helpful with their teammates, caring about the clients, or searching for improvements? These consistency patterns should help define core values that are truly relevant to your organization and how it actually functions.

Cut to 3–7 real values

Instead of listing 10 values, think about combining similar concepts into 3 – 7 core values. Such a short list is more likely to stick in employees’ minds and help them apply the values while making decisions in real life. It will also help in applying the established values during hiring, onboarding, and performance review processes.

Kill the aspirational fluff

Always avoid using values just because they sound good or are widely known in your industry. The purpose of EOS core values is to describe the behaviors already taken by your employees, not to reflect the desired ones that your company wants to implement in the future. Your authentic values should be trustworthy.

Four Steps to the Values You Already Live

Defining Core Focus (The Hedgehog)

Your purpose, cause, or passion

Your purpose describes what your organization is about, beyond revenue. It should explain the influence your company wants to have on its clients, personnel, or the whole sector. The clearer the purpose is, the easier it will be to make sound decisions and keep teams united as the company matures.

Your niche

Your niche is simply the area in which your business has been able to perform effectively. Instead of attempting to appeal to every client, core focus EOS encourages businesses to target a particular client group, service type, or segment of the market. This corresponds to the hedgehog EOS concept of focusing on what your company does best.

The filter for every opportunity and Rock

Once you know your company’s core focus EOS, use it when evaluating each important opportunity, Rock, or strategy. If an idea doesn’t match your purpose or strengthen your niche, it might do more harm than good for the company.

The Hedgehog Purpose Meets Niche

Why Unenforced Values Quietly Die

Values become a poster within a quarter.

Even the best EOS core values lose their value in the workplace if they are shared once without further mention. Employees perceive that core values have no real impact on their daily decisions; therefore, over time, they stop paying attention to them.

Not used in hiring, firing, or the weekly.

The influence of the core values should guide every part of the process of the employment cycle, from hiring to onboarding to development, and then termination when necessary. Executives should make time to discuss core values during their weekly meetings, rewarding employees demonstrating the values and addressing behaviors that contradict the values. If the values are not taken into account when making actual decisions related to people, they’ll have no impact on the workplace culture.

Culture drifts while the wall stays the same.

Culture is not measured in terms of what leadership proclaims, but by what leadership rewards, permits, and corrects consistently over time. When leaders ignore behaviors that go against the organization’s values, employees get a confused message about what is actually significant. With the passage of time, an organization’s culture changes even though the EOS core values displayed on the wall never change.

How Unenforced Values Quietly Die

Turn A Value Into A Checkable Behavior

From "integrity" to one observable action

In order to be useful, EOS core values must provide clear expectations regarding behaviors that can be observed in people. Instead of simply stating "Integrity," it should be defined as "Meets commitments and informs people as soon as possible if deadlines are at risk."

Add it to hiring Scorecards and reviews

Use the values during interviews and evaluations of employees by measuring their behaviors and actions rather than basing decisions on opinions. This will increase the consistency of hiring processes.

Reward and correct against it weekly

Core values become embedded in culture when leaders reward those employees whose behaviors are aligned with the values, and vice versa. The more often the discussions are held, the better impact they have on people.

From Wall Art to a Checkable Behaviour

Soft Introduction to ShiftFocus (People Analyzer Link)

Many EOS leaders make use of ShiftFocus together with the People Analyzer for evaluating core values in the hiring, coaching, and quarterly review processes. Having the values available in the everyday actions of the leaders simplifies the task of making sure that they are implemented properly.

Core Value	Fuzzy Version	Checkable Behavior
Accountability	“Owns it”	Meets obligations or makes an effort to communicate early when priorities change.
Customer First	“Excellent service”	Responds to customer requests within the set timeframe.
Teamwork	“Cooperates well with other employees”	Provides information, offers help, and performs his/her obligations.
Continuous Improvement	“Is always eager to learn”	Searches for methods of improving functioning and executes relevant solutions.

Value, or Wall Art

Where core values have to show up

Stage of the employment cycle	What the values have to do there
Hiring	Measure observable behaviour rather than opinion, so hiring stays consistent
Onboarding	Set the expectation before habits form
Development	Coach against the behaviour, not the personality
The weekly	Reward employees demonstrating the values and address behaviours that contradict them
Termination	Act when behaviour contradicts the values, so the standard stays real

Use Core Focus as a Filter

Every Rock passes the focus test

Each quarter, your quarterly Rock should align with your core focus EOS. When considering a new initiative, make sure to question whether it would help the company in achieving its mission and enhancing the scope of its business or not. If the answer is no, then you should hold back your effort and resources. This type of filtering will help the leadership teams not to lose sight of the long-term objectives of the company and instead, to prioritize the initiatives aimed at accomplishing them.

Say no to on-brand-looking distractions

Not every good opportunity is the right one! Some projects may be profitable or have something in common with your industry, but they may still lead the business astray from doing what it does best. If the leaders adhere to the core focus EOS when choosing among the potential customers, services, partners, and investments, then their organization will be able to make the right decisions.

Every Rock Passes the Focus Test

Values Guide Every Part of the Employment Cycle

Core Values Mistakes

Too many values

3 – 7 values tend to work best for the majority of organizations implementing EOS. A lengthy catalogue of values can create memory problems and obstacles in implementing them effectively.

Generic values anyone could claim

Common phrases such as “Integrity,” “Respect,” and “Excellence” do not distinguish your organization because almost every organization uses them. When you define core values, make the effort to be specific about the behaviors that exemplify your values. This allows you to use EOS core values more easily in hiring practices, coaching, and decision-making.

Values leadership doesn’t model

Employees pay more attention to leaders' actions rather than words. Whenever the leaders turn a blind eye to the company’s EOS core values, the employees will likely follow their example.

Never hiring or firing on them

Adoption of EOS core values serves no good unless it affects the decisions made within the organization. For example, hiring, promotions, coaching, and all other tough personnel decisions should reflect the behaviors your organization expects.

Four ways core values stop working

Mistake	What goes wrong
Too many values	A lengthy catalogue creates memory problems and obstacles to implementation. 3 – 7 works best for most organizations.
Generic values anyone could claim	“Integrity,” “Respect,” and “Excellence” do not distinguish your organization, because almost every organization uses them.
Values leadership doesn't model	Employees pay more attention to leaders' actions than to their words, and follow the example that is set.
Never hiring or firing on them	Values that never affect hiring, promotions, coaching, or tough personnel decisions serve no good.

Value, or wall art? Five questions

Ask this	Wall art	A real value
Where did it come from?	A brainstorming session	Observation of what your best people already do
How specific is it?	A phrase any organization could claim	A behaviour you could watch someone perform
How many are there?	Ten or more	3 – 7
Where does it appear?	The wall	Hiring, onboarding, coaching, reviews, and the weekly
Does leadership live it?	Behaviours that contradict it are ignored	Rewarded and corrected consistently

FAQs

What are EOS core values?

EOS core values signify the few behaviors that reflect the company's culture. These help leaders with their decision-making process, including hiring, coaching, and security measures.

What's the difference between core values and core focus?

Core values and core focus differ based on their functions; while core values speak of team members’ actions, core focus EOS presents the reasons for the existence of a particular company and the area of business where it brings the most benefits.

How many core values should a company have?

As a rule, EOS recommends using 3 – 7core values at once. The shorter the list of core values, the easier it is for workers to remember and apply them.

How do you actually enforce core values?

The optimal approach for implementing EOS core values is by utilizing them throughout hiring, onboarding, coaching, evaluations, and weekly leaders' discussions. These values will become part of the culture once leaders begin constantly recognizing and confronting behaviors connected to them.

What is the hedgehog EOS principle?

The hedgehog EOS principle relates to finding the niche where your company can perform the best. In EOS, this is represented through the core focus EOS, which aligns with your organization's purpose and area of expertise.