There comes a point in most growing businesses where running things from your head, your inbox & a collection of spreadsheets stops working.
Actually, let me rephrase that.
It normally stops working long before the business owner admits it has stopped working.
You start with a small team. Everyone knows what everyone else is doing. Decisions happen quickly. If there’s a problem, you lean across the desk, pick up the phone or shout across the room. It’s not particularly sophisticated, but it works.
Then you grow.
More people. More customers. More meetings. More complexity. More moving parts. Suddenly, the way you’ve always run the business starts creaking under the weight of the business you’ve built.
That’s often when business owners start looking for some kind of business operating system.
Not necessarily a particular methodology. Simply a better way of running the business.
A common rhythm. Clear priorities. Better meetings. Defined accountability. Somewhere to keep the important stuff. A way of seeing whether you are actually making progress rather than simply being incredibly busy.
And increasingly, business owners are choosing to self-implement these systems.
That can work.
But there’s a catch.
Self-Implementing Doesn’t Mean Making It Up As You Go
I’m a big believer in business owners taking responsibility for how their companies operate.
You do not necessarily need a consultant hovering around every meeting with a clipboard.
But if you’re going to implement a business operating system yourself, you need discipline.
Because there is a huge difference between having a system & actually running the business on it.
I see businesses with beautifully documented plans that nobody looks at.
Priorities that haven’t been updated in six months.
Meetings that have slowly drifted back into two-hour talking shops.
Numbers being tracked because somebody once thought they looked important.
Tasks everywhere.
Issues nowhere.
Accountability that becomes slightly mysterious as soon as something goes wrong.
Sound familiar?
The problem is rarely a lack of intelligence. Most business owners I work with are smart, capable people.
The problem is consistency.
And this is one area where technology can genuinely help.
What Should a Business Operating System Software Actually Do?
Before choosing software, forget the logos & features for a moment.
Ask a much simpler question:
What behaviour are we trying to create in our business?
Good operating software should help your team create habits around things like:
- keeping your long-term direction visible
- agreeing on the handful of priorities that matter now
- assigning genuine accountability
- tracking useful numbers
- capturing issues before they disappear into somebody’s notebook
- running consistent meetings
- documenting important processes
- following through on commitments
In other words, the software should make it easier to run the business properly.
It should not become another piece of software everyone logs into enthusiastically for three weeks before forgetting the password.
There are now several platforms built specifically around helping businesses implement structured operating systems. Three worth looking at are Ninety, Success.co & Strety.
Ninety
Ninety has been around the business operating system space for quite some time & positions itself broadly as software for organisations running structured business systems. It also has dedicated functionality for businesses running on EOS®.
Its platform brings many of the core disciplines you would expect into one environment, including meetings, organisational structure, priorities, measurables, issues, actions & longer-term planning.
For businesses trying to get away from Word documents, spreadsheets, sticky notes & five different applications, that centralisation can be valuable.
Ninety also increasingly positions itself beyond one particular methodology, which may appeal if you’re building your own operating rhythm or combining ideas from different approaches.
The biggest benefit isn’t that Ninety can magically make you run a better business.
It can’t.
What it can do is give you a single home for the way you run the business.
And that matters.
Success.co
Success.co takes a more focused approach. It is an officially licensed EOS® software platform designed specifically around teams using that particular operating system.
Its functionality includes the core areas you would expect for leadership alignment, meetings, priorities, accountability & execution, with its product designed around keeping those activities together rather than spread across multiple systems.
That makes it particularly relevant for businesses that know the methodology they want to follow & want technology that mirrors it closely.
There is something to be said for simplicity here.
One of the problems with business software is feature creep. Somebody adds project management. Then chat. Then HR. Then another dashboard nobody understands.
Before long you’ve bought the Swiss Army knife of business software when all you actually needed was a bloody good screwdriver.
If you’re self-implementing, simpler can sometimes be better because the technology reinforces the framework rather than inviting you to endlessly customise it.
Strety
Strety takes another approach again.
Alongside business operating system functionality, it incorporates areas such as project management, people management, documentation, surveys & AI-assisted features.
That potentially makes it attractive for organisations wanting a broader operational platform rather than a narrowly focused implementation tool.
Strety is also an officially licensed EOS® software that has supported other business operating systems, so it may suit teams wanting more flexibility around exactly how their management system is constructed.
Of course, flexibility has a trade-off.
More functionality can be fantastic if you’re going to use it.
It can also give you another magnificent opportunity to overcomplicate things.
Which brings us to the bigger point.
Don’t Choose The Software First
This is where businesses often get the sequence backwards.
They buy the platform.
Then they start asking what to put into it.
That’s like buying a massive tool chest before deciding whether you’re building a house or fixing a bicycle.
Technology should support the operating system.
It shouldn’t be the operating system.
Before choosing any platform, get clear on the fundamentals.
- How will your leadership team make decisions?
- How will priorities be agreed?
- How will you know whether the business is on track?
- Who is accountable for what?
- How will problems be raised & solved?
- What meeting rhythm will you follow?
- How will your processes be captured?
- How will information move through the organisation?
If those answers are fuzzy, prettier software will simply give you a more attractive place to store the confusion.
The Family Business Complication
For family businesses, there is another layer to this.
Because you aren’t simply managing a business.
You’re often dealing with three overlapping worlds: family, business, & ownership.
A person might be Dad at Sunday lunch, a 40% shareholder on Monday morning & Head of Sales by Monday afternoon.
Same human. Three completely different hats.
This is where structure becomes enormously valuable.
A business operating system can help make responsibilities, priorities, meetings & decisions more explicit.
But it cannot decide which hat somebody is wearing.
Your family needs to do that.
Ownership issues shouldn’t quietly migrate into management meetings. Family disagreements shouldn’t disguise themselves as operational issues. And being a shareholder doesn’t automatically mean somebody should be involved in every business decision.
Software can provide the structure.
Humans still have to have the conversations.
So Which Software Should You Choose?
I wouldn’t start by asking, “Which one has the most features?”
I’d ask:
Which one will our team actually use every week?
That’s the test.
Ninety may suit a business wanting a mature platform capable of supporting a broader business operating system.
Success.co may appeal to teams wanting a more specifically focused EOS® experience.
Strety may suit organisations that want their operating system sitting alongside wider project, people & documentation functionality.
But don’t choose purely from a feature comparison chart.
Trial them.
Put real information into them.
Run an actual leadership meeting.
Get the people who will use the software every week involved.
Find out whether it creates clarity or simply gives everyone another tab open on their laptop.
Software Provide the Rails While You Drive the Train
Self-implementation can absolutely work.
I’ve seen disciplined leadership teams take a framework, commit to it & fundamentally change the way they run their business.
I’ve also seen businesses enthusiastically adopt a system, rename a few meetings, create some quarterly priorities & announce that everything has changed.
Six months later, they’re running the business exactly as they did before.
The difference isn’t usually the software.
It’s whether the leadership team is willing to change its behaviour.
Good software creates visibility.
It creates reminders. It puts information in one place. It helps establish rhythm. It makes hiding harder.
And that is useful.
But it won’t challenge the founder who refuses to let go.
It won’t resolve unclear ownership expectations. It won’t call out the leadership team for avoiding the elephant in the room. And it certainly won’t make difficult decisions for you.
That’s still your job.
So if you’re self-implementing a system in your business, by all means use technology to help you.
In fact, I think you probably should.
Just remember what you’re buying.
The software is there to help you run your system. It isn’t a substitute for leadership.
And if your beautifully configured platform says everything is on track while the business feels like it’s being held together with caffeine, WhatsApp & goodwill, perhaps it’s time to look beyond the dashboard.
Written by Debra Chantry-Taylor, FBA Accredited Family Business Advisor, Certified EOS Implementer & Founder of Business Action.
Business Action is focused on helping Entrepreneurs lead better lives, through creating a better business. We have a small team of accredited family business advisors, EOS Implementers & Leadership coaches, as well as access to a huge range of advisors through our Trusted Partners Network.
