Exit Momentum vs. EOSⓇ: What’s the Difference, and Which Is Right For Your Business?

What Do EOSⓇ and EXM have in common?

Process

At the core of both the EOS and EXM models is an emphasis on process. Both methods rely on a proven set of steps that business owners can take to achieve predictable success. EOS is focused on a 6-step wheel (including vision, data, process, traction, issues, and people), while EXM is built on 5 core pillars (people, purpose, playbook, performance, and profit).

Both EOS and EXM are anchored in some of the most tried, tested, and trusted tools and philosophies in the business world today, including:

• Jim Collins’ model of Accountability Charts
• Stephen Covey’s Rocks Concept
• Proven Methods For Running Effective Meetings
• Metrics-Tracking Tools
• Visioning & Planning Exercises

Vision

How do EOSⓇ and EXM differ?

This is in no small part due to the fact that there’s a wide breadth of experience levels and areas of expertise within the EOS Implementer community (more on this further down). Simply put, some Implementers will be excellently equipped to provide next-level strategy—while others will only be comfortable working within the confines of EOS basics.

At Exit Momentum, there’s a greater emphasis on strategy, financial discipline, and leadership at a higher level. We understand that a goal without a plan is just a wish—and a plan without a strategy is just busy work.

With Exit Momentum, you’ll focus on what makes your business unique, how to strategically position yourself within your market, get clear on your one-sentence strategy, and lean into your unique differentiator. We’ll work together to incrementally separate you from your business and drive your gross profit, net profit, and overall company valuation.

The method is well-tested and appropriate for many types of businesses. However, at the end of the day, EOS is a fixed track vehicle with very limited leeway like the cars at Disney World’s Tomorrowland Speedway. And if their ‘track’ isn’t the fix your business really needs, business owners may find themselves still feeling overwhelmed or lacking results months into the implementation process—or worse, trapped two years down the road with no additional tools or methods to implement for scaling their business.

At Exit Momentum, our foundational principles & frameworks can remain solid while still customizing the entire coaching experience for you and your team. We understand that every business is unique—so we intentionally build our methodology with enough flexibility to meet you where you are.

From the very beginning of our work together, we structure the pace of your project around your business goals and needs. We work with you to figure out how many and what types of meetings are needed for your team—from daily standups to weekly tactical meetings, to monthly financial closeouts and rock reviews, to company rollout events, departmental meetings, 1:1 coaching sessions, performance improvement meetings, and beyond.

From the pace of our work together to the way you run your meetings, every element of our work together can be adjusted based on what works best for you.

For example, if you have a long-term goal of focusing on leadership—but your business is currently bleeding money—we’re not interested in putting you through leadership training right off the bat just for the sake of “following the process.” We understand that a bankrupt business full of excellent leaders doesn’t do anyone any good… so we prioritize stopping the bleed, cutting the chaos, and fixing what’s in need or urgent repair first. Then, we zoom out and start moving you towards your long-term goals—often in a fraction of the time compared to other business coaching programs.

Exit Momentum also provides scalability not easily found with EOSⓇ, allowing businesses to expand as their needs increase. With the ability to customize and scale up quickly, EOSⓇ can’t match the level of efficiency that EXM offers.

In a nutshell, Exit Momentum’s coaching philosophy provides business owners with greater freedom and control over their operations from implementation through execution and beyond.

Thanks to specific tools designed for scaling companies efficiently and effectively, business owners can achieve their long-term objectives in an organized manner without having to worry about missteps or a lack of resources due to EOSⓇ’ fixed & rigid structure.

EOSⓇ tends to focus on hiring and team-building from a high-level perspective. Their model prioritizes seeking out the right team members based on the business owner’s vision for the company—however, they only provide very basic resources to facilitate the process of scouring the job market, hiring, and onboarding with success.

EXM, on the other hand, provides resources on every part of the hiring process—from finding and recruiting the right people based on your vision for your team, to intentional onboarding, to team-building, communication, decision-making, and accountability. EXM boasts a suite of customizable tools business owners can leverage depending on:

• Stage of the business.
• Levels of competency within the team.
• Specific issues that need to be addressed within the team.

EXM also focuses on helping leaders become true coaches for their team, so you can not only find the right people—but bring out the best in those people. Whereas EOS teaches a one-size-fits-all approach, we approach building the right team like professional sports franchises do with elite level athletes.

We recognize that every position requires the right player, every player has their own purpose, and its the coach’s responsibility to arrange these moving pieces in a way that best aligns with the company’s needs. We help you see exactly how to do that, so you can build and customize your own “winning team.”

While EOS and EXM are both rooted in data-driven principles, EXM separates itself with our level with an ongoing refinement in this area. We understand that collecting data is step one, and that getting highly strategic about implementing that data is an essential component in a business’ ability to:

• Make accurate, reliable projections.
• Respond to challenges with ease and agility.
• Drive net profits year after year.
• Monitor & control cash flow.
• Consistently improve company valuation.

EOSⓇ can be very dogmatic in nature. Every plan is scrutinized to check if they are “pure EOSⓇ,” discouraging any deviation from the original frameworks laid out in EOSⓇ circa the early 2000s. A lot has changed in the world since then… but EOS has remained largely the same.

At Exit Momentum, we understand that building a successful business means evolving to match the needs of the market and your customers. We know you don’t want a system or a purity test. You want results. Getting you those results is our #1 priority—so much so that our first core value is “Maniacally Obsess Over Results.”

We believe that in real life, there are very few perfect, immovable systems, and that operating systems need upgrades. Can you imagine if Microsoft, Apple, or Google stuck with v1 of their OS? Whether we’re pivoting based on world events or based on your business goals, we’re constantly learning, developing, testing, and evolving our tools based on what’s working *today.*

Of all the differences between EOS and Exit Momentum, perhaps the most profound and the most directly impactful on your business coaching experience is the difference in what you can expect from your personal business coach.

There are many extremely talented EOS Implementers out there who have in-depth entrepreneurial experience and a solid grasp on what it really takes to run and scale a successful company. Unfortunately—it’s relatively simple to become an EOS Implementer. This means many EOS coaches are out there working from a place of limited knowledge and niche experience.

At Exit Momentum, we are ruthless about determining who gets to call themselves an EXM business coach. Our team is limited exclusively to:

• Coaches who have built and run successful businesses in a variety of industries. All of our coaches are serial entrepreneurs who’ve managed millions in revenue, worked with teams of all sizes, and have first-hand experience with what it’s like to be wear the business owner hat.
• Coaches who have been hand-selected and personally trained by our CEO, Cullen Talley. We don’t hand people a manual and let them go. Our coaches aren’t approved to work with our clients until they’ve proven that they have the chops to get results up to the EXM standard.

As an EXM client, you can rest assured that your mentor is a master of entrepreneurship, a tried-and-tested business leader, and a thought partner who will help you think critically about what’s needed to get your business to the next level.

Exit Momentum requires an investment of time and resources to implement. Business owners should consider if they have the necessary resources to commit to the coaching process, including the time and budget.

Exit Momentum is compatible with the software Ninety.io., and your coaching package comes complete with full software setup, training, and integration into your business. Our goal is to make getting started and staying on track as simple as possible. You don’t need to become a Ninety expert, we have that handled.