How Implementing EOS Transforms Agencies to Ascend
Key Takeaways
- EOS self-implementation is possible but comes with significant pitfalls - agencies often miss critical nuances without a professional implementer
- Integrating core values into your screening and hiring process creates stronger cultural alignment from day one
- Employee NPS is a powerful metric for measuring team health and catching culture issues early
- Balancing multiple tools like Ninety.io for EOS tracking and ClickUp for project management requires clear boundaries for each
- Transitioning from an internal department to a standalone agency requires deliberate process design and leadership development
Gray MacKenzie sits down with Anne Shenton, CEO of Ascend Strategy & Design, to explore how implementing the Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS) helped transform her agency. Ascend is a HubSpot Diamond and Advanced CMS Implementation certified Solutions Partner, and Anne shares the real story behind their EOS journey - including the challenges of self-implementation and the cultural shifts that followed.
From Internal Department to Independent Agency
Anne’s path to leading Ascend was anything but linear. She started her career with a passion for web design and digital strategy, eventually building what would become Ascend from within a larger organization. The transition from operating as an internal department to launching as an independent agency required rethinking everything - from how the team was structured to how decisions were made and who was accountable for what.
That pivot forced Anne to confront operational gaps that had been masked by the parent organization’s infrastructure. Without those guardrails, the team needed a framework to create clarity around roles, goals, and accountability. That search ultimately led her to EOS.
Discovering EOS and the Self-Implementation Challenge
Anne describes how Ascend initially attempted to self-implement EOS rather than hiring a professional implementer. The appeal was obvious - lower cost, full control, and the ability to move at their own pace. But the reality proved more complicated.
Self-implementation meant the leadership team was both learning the system and trying to facilitate it simultaneously. Without an outside perspective to push back on assumptions and hold the team accountable, certain components of EOS did not get the traction they needed. Anne is candid about where the DIY approach fell short and what she would do differently if starting over.
The key lesson is that EOS is deceptively simple on the surface. The tools - Vision/Traction Organizer, Level 10 meetings, Rocks, Scorecard - are straightforward to understand. But the discipline required to run them consistently and the facilitation skills needed to keep conversations productive are where most self-implementing teams struggle.
EOS and Culture Development
One of the most impactful outcomes of EOS at Ascend was its effect on organizational culture. Anne discusses how defining and operationalizing the agency’s core values changed how the team makes decisions, resolves conflicts, and evaluates performance.
A standout practice at Ascend is their use of core values in the hiring and screening process. Rather than treating values as aspirational wall art, the team built interview questions and evaluation criteria directly around them. Candidates who do not align with those values are filtered out early, regardless of their technical qualifications. This approach has reduced mis-hires and strengthened team cohesion.
Anne also highlights their use of an “Employee NPS” metric as a way to take the pulse of the team. By regularly measuring how likely team members are to recommend Ascend as a place to work, leadership gets an early warning system for morale issues before they escalate. It is a simple metric, but it drives real conversations and accountability when scores dip.
Balancing Tools: Ninety.io and ClickUp
A practical challenge many EOS-running agencies face is how to manage the tooling. Ascend uses Ninety.io as their dedicated EOS platform for tracking Rocks, running L10 meetings, and maintaining the V/TO. But the agency’s project management and daily work lives in ClickUp.
Anne shares how the team established clear boundaries between the two tools to avoid duplication and confusion. Ninety.io handles the strategic EOS rhythm. ClickUp handles task execution, client work, and internal projects. The handoff between the two - where a quarterly Rock in Ninety.io becomes actionable tasks in ClickUp - is where discipline matters most.
The broader takeaway is that running EOS does not mean you need to consolidate everything into one platform. What matters is that each tool has a clear purpose and the team knows where to go for what.
Advice for Agencies Considering EOS
Anne’s recommendation for agency leaders exploring EOS is to take the framework seriously enough to invest in professional implementation, even if the budget feels tight. The cost of a professional implementer pays for itself through faster adoption, fewer false starts, and stronger accountability from the beginning.
She also emphasizes that EOS is not a silver bullet. It provides structure and common language, but the leadership team still has to do the hard work of confronting issues, making tough people decisions, and staying disciplined with the process quarter after quarter.
Resources Mentioned
- Anne Shenton on LinkedIn - CEO of Ascend Strategy & Design
- Ascend Strategy & Design - HubSpot Diamond Solutions Partner
- Ninety.io - EOS software platform
- HeyTaco - Team recognition tool
- Slickplan - Website planning tool