10x Your Business: An EOS Quick Start Guide

Incorporating 10x Principles into Your Business and How EOS Can Help

The idea that “10x is easier than 2x,” popularized by Dan Sullivan (Strategic Coach) and Dr. Benjamin Hardy, challenges us to think exponentially rather than incrementally. While most entrepreneurs focus on making small, manageable improvements, the 10x concept pushes for transformative growth by focusing on fewer, more impactful goals. If you're familiar with the Entrepreneurial Operating System? (EOS?), you'll recognize some synergy here—EOS is all about simplifying and focusing on what matters most to accelerate business success.

The 10x mindset is not only about growing revenues - it's about dramatically improving any result you want: recognition? profit? time? leisure? relationships?

Here’s how to incorporate 10x thinking into your business, and how EOS can help you achieve it:

What Is 10x Thinking?

Dan's concept of 10x is rooted in the idea that aiming for exponential growth—10 times your current success—is easier than aiming for incremental growth (2x). When you set 10x goals, you force yourself to rethink your approach, eliminate distractions, and focus only on the most essential activities. The principle encourages business leaders to take bold action and redefine their processes. Even if you don't actually hit the 10x goal, you are much more likely to have greater success than incremental changes would allow.

Here’s the core of 10x:

1. Clarify: Identify the most important factors that will lead to transformative growth.

2. Simplify: Cut out everything that doesn’t directly contribute to 10x outcomes.

3. Commit: Focus 100% on these critical tasks and leverage your best resources.

You cannot scale a complex system.

How EOS Principles Align with 10x Thinking

EOS already contains key elements that make incorporating 10x thinking easier and more structured. It focuses on simplifying, gaining clarity, and increasing accountability—all foundational to achieving exponential growth.

Here are the foundational EOS tools that align perfectly with 10x thinking:

1. The Vision/Traction Organizer (V/TO?)

The V/TO helps leadership teams clarify and communicate their vision. This tool allows you to outline your long-term goals (like 10x growth), identify your core focus, and lay out the steps needed to get there.

How It Supports 10x Thinking:

- Core Values: Define the characteristics of the kind of people you need on your team. THE most important factor in determining success is having the Right People in the Right Seats.

- Core Focus: What is your company’s unique ability? The V/TO pushes you to focus only on what moves the needle, eliminating distractions that don’t contribute to long-term growth. Define what motivates you and the core business you are truly great at.

- 10-Year Target: Setting a clear, long-term vision aligns directly with the 10x idea of focusing on big, bold goals that stretch your business beyond incremental improvements. This is a great place to document your core BHAG (Big, Hairy, Audacious Goal) - your core 10x.

2. The Accountability Chart?

To reach 10x growth, every person in your organization must have clear roles and responsibilities. EOS’s Accountability Chart forces you to clearly define who’s responsible for what and ensures the Right People are in the Right Seats.

How It Supports 10x Thinking:

- Simplification: The Accountability Chart helps you clarify functions and roles and streamline decision-making, which eliminates complexity—critical for scaling your business exponentially. You can't scale without knowing the critical functions you need to hire the best people for.

"The right 'Whos' make the impossible, possible." - Dr. Ben Hardy

3. Rocks

Rocks are 90-day priorities that keep your team laser-focused on the most important things that will move your business forward. With 10x thinking, your Rocks should be geared toward your bold growth objectives. On the V/TO, it all should align: the 10-Year Target is your BHAG - the perfect place to think 10x. Your 3-Year Picture is a waypoint on the road to the BHAG. Your 1-Year Plan states the Goals to be achieved to take a step toward the 3-Year Picture. Your Rocks are the priorities that will help you accomplish the 1-Year Plan, solve big Issues that are holding you back, and take advantage of opportunities to leap forward.

How Rocks Support 10x Thinking:

- Commitment to Critical Objectives: By focusing on 90-day Rocks, you’re using the 10x principle of focusing on fewer, bigger goals and applying it to your company’s day-to-day operations.

Do less, better...

4. Issues Solving Track (IDS?)

To grow 10x, your business will need to tackle big issues head-on. The Issues Solving Track (Identify, Discuss, Solve) provides a framework for addressing challenges quickly and efficiently.

How Solving Issues Supports 10x Thinking:

- Efficient Problem-Solving: 10x growth won’t happen without resolving the inevitable obstacles. EOS’s IDS method gives your team a simple, repeatable process to identify and solve issues quickly.

Steps to Start Your 10x Journey with EOS:

1. Start with Your Vision

Begin by using the V/TO to define your company’s vision for the next 10 years. What would your business look like if it were 10 times more successful than it is today? Be bold in your thinking, and don’t be afraid to stretch your goals. Use this as your foundation.

2. Identify Your 10x Core Focus

What is the one thing your business does better than anyone else? The 10x principle is about narrowing your focus to the core activities that generate the most value. Use the Core Focus section of the V/TO to clearly define your company’s unique contribution and align all your efforts toward it.

3. Set Rocks

Next, create Rocks for the quarter that align with your 1-Year Plan, 3-Year Picture, and ultimately your 10x vision. Ensure that each Rock pushes your team toward significant growth. Eliminate any Rock that doesn’t directly contribute to your long-term vision.

4. Use the Scorecard

Track your progress toward 10x goals with the EOS Scorecard. Identify weekly metrics that measure the activities most closely tied to growth. This keeps everyone accountable and ensures you’re on track.

5. Build a High-Functioning Team

No business can achieve 10x growth without the right people in place. Use your Core Values to make sure everyone is a Right Person. Use the Accountability Chart to ensure that each person on your team is crystal clear about their function and their roles and is fully aligned with your vision. Make sure you have the right people in the right seats.

Final Thoughts: Focus on What Matters Most

10x growth isn’t about doing more—it’s about doing less because they are the right things. With the 10x mindset and EOS’s practical, proven tools, you can scale your business beyond what you thought was possible. Start today by clarifying your vision, setting bold goals, and using the EOS Toolbox to get there.

By integrating the powerful frameworks of both 10x thinking and EOS, you can streamline your efforts, eliminate distractions, and focus your energy on achieving explosive growth. Combining these two philosophies will set you on the path to success.

Ready to go 10x? Explore more about the Entrepreneurial Operating System at my website: https://www.eosworldwide.com/paul-levering