I’ll admit—I was a little concerned that having more voices in the room might slow us down.
With so much ground to cover in a single day, adding new perspectives could have made things more complicated.
But in reality, it did the opposite. The fresh ideas and diverse viewpoints led us to a stronger plan, setting us up to hit the ground running in Q2.
I’m referring to our quarterly EOS planning meeting that we held last week.
For the first time, we had seven people in the room—our largest planning session yet—including a few new faces from the team.
Looking back, what made it work so well—despite the larger group—was the structure. Because we followed a proven framework, EOS, we had a solid foundation. So at least half the group, as well as our EOS Implementer, had been through quarterly planning many times before and the process is always the same:
- Segue
- Review the Previous Quarter
- Review the Vision/Traction Organizer®
- Establish Next Quarter’s Rocks
- Tackle Key Issues
- Next Steps
- Conclude
I’ve become more familiar with the concept of using frameworks to solve problems over the past year since joining Strategic Coach, a business coaching program that provides a framework for entrepreneurs to gain clarity, increase confidence, and achieve accelerated results.
Each quarter I learn at least one new framework that I can use to help me think about, and solve, challenges I’m facing.
For example, there’s a framework, or tool, called the “Impact Filter”, which we use to think through our quarterly Rocks and what success looks like for each of them in order to develop their milestones.
There’s another tool called the “Experience Transformer” which we use when we have a situation, good or bad, that we want to learn from so that we can repeat it, or never have it happen again.
So I was very intrigued to learn about the framework for Change Management while listening to a RevOps Champions podcast with two of our own team members. The guest on this episode is Tina Bishop, our Change Management and Training Specialist.
When clients hire us to implement or optimize their CRM, what they’re really hiring us for is to help them achieve the business outcomes that happen through having an optimized CRM. At a high level, these outcomes are usually related to scalable growth, operational efficiency, employee experience, customer experience, and better cross-functional team alignment.
In order for those things to happen however, a company not only needs a CRM, they need their users to use the CRM.
With adoption being the holy grail of a successful system implementation, change management is the critical piece of how we get there.
Tina is certified in change management by Prosci, which is a company and a leading change management methodology. Their methodology, or framework, ADKAR, helps organizations manage the people part (often the most challenging part!) of change.
As Tina shared, “I thought change management was this fuzzy kind of something out there type of thing, but there is a concrete methodology behind it and that's what ADKAR represents. The ADKAR model stands for Awareness, Desire, Knowledge, Ability and Reinforcement.”
Tina expressed exactly how I’ve thought about so many challenges I’ve faced—that they’re one-off, nebulous, situations that require me to rack my brain to figure out how to solve them. And what I’ve learned is that a better approach is often to assess the situation and then find a framework that can help me solve the problem.
Frameworks are powerful tools for clarity, efficiency, and strategic execution. Whether guiding organizational change (like ADKAR), structuring problem-solving (SWOT analysis, Impact Filter, etc), or streamlining innovation (Design Thinking), frameworks help us navigate complexity to achieve better outcomes.
The benefits of using a framework are many:
Clarity in Complexity
Businesses operate in fast-moving, unpredictable environments. Frameworks break down complex challenges into structured, manageable steps, making decision-making more straightforward.
Efficiency and Repeatability
A well-designed framework prevents teams from reinventing the wheel with every new challenge. By offering a proven structure, frameworks save time, reduce trial-and-error, and increase consistency.
Alignment and Communication
Frameworks provide a common language that aligns teams and leaders toward a shared goal. This minimizes misinterpretation and ensures everyone understands the approach.
Faster Decision-Making
By offering structured pathways, frameworks help leaders avoid decision paralysis and act decisively. Instead of navigating uncertainty blindly, businesses can rely on time-tested principles.
Scalability and Growth
Successful companies don’t just solve problems—they create repeatable processes that scale. Frameworks enable organizations to grow without losing structure or efficiency by codifying best practices.
The power of frameworks lies in their ability to simplify, structure, and scale success. Whether driving change, improving decision-making, or aligning teams, frameworks give businesses a roadmap to navigate uncertainty with confidence.
As we step into Q2, the power of frameworks reminds us that success isn’t about reinventing the wheel—it’s about using the right tools to drive progress.
Whether it’s EOS for business planning, ADKAR for change management, or the Impact Filter for goal setting, the right framework provides clarity, structure, and direction.
If you’re tackling a big initiative this quarter—whether it’s CRM optimization, team alignment, or operational efficiency—consider what framework might help guide you. The best solutions are often already mapped out; we just need to leverage them.
Here’s to a season of growth, fresh perspectives, and well-structured success!
Cheers,
Kristin
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Kristin Dennewill
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