One of the most common questions when starting with EOS is what tools to use for tracking issues, to-dos, and Rocks.
Spreadsheets
For many companies, the easiest way to get started is with a simple spreadsheet, with separate tables for your Scorecard, Rocks, To-dos and Issues. These are usually located in a shared folder or Sharepoint so that every member of the team can access them to add Issues.
Especially for To-dos and Rocks, having a spreadsheet table allows the team to filter out completed items, sort the table by priority or owner, and also analyze historical completion rates. These can be powerful, but simple tools to get started with EOS.
For Scorecards and Rocks, tables can be easily set up to track progress, and tools like Conditional Formatting can make your tables more visual.
Documents
Some teams use a shared document, like OneNote or a Word document to track their Issues lists. This does cause some duplicated effort, as the document needs to be re-created for every meeting (or worse, the historical data is deleted and overwritten with the current updates). While this can work for a short time, the loss of historical information is unnecessary.
Online Tools
There are a few online tools available, but one of the best tools is Ninety – that’s what we use at ROC Advisors internally. While it does have a monthly user cost, it integrates all the functions of EOS into one simple platform. Issue and To-do tracking is simplified, and your scorecard and Rocks are set up with a few clicks.
Beyond the basic setup, it also includes advanced features, like:
- Having your Accountability Chart set up in Ninety in a quickly adjusted, easy-to-use format.
- Meeting templates for all EOS meetings that also track time by section to keep your team on track
- Automated summary emails with new to-dos, completed issues, and headlines to keep the team up-to-date.
If you are interested in a demonstration of the Ninety platform, please reach out to us!