How Lloyd Companies scaled from 150 to 500 employees using EOS

Executive overview

Lloyd Companies tried EOS in 2015 without an implementer, customised it to fit their own assumptions, and it failed. A $500M hospitality portfolio collapsing in 2020 forced a reset. They rehired EOS — this time with a certified implementer — and tripled headcount in four years.

A professional EOS implementer is the difference between EOS working and EOS dying.

Why the first EOS attempt failed

• Read the books, got partial buy-in, but not everyone committed
• Brought implementation in-house instead of hiring an implementer
• Told themselves "we're different" and deviated from the system
• Gradually abandoned it — the team knew they weren't doing it right

The 2020 crisis that forced a reset

• Three major hotel projects totalling ~$500M were cancelled
• The hospitality division pivot created urgent pressure to regain focus
• Leadership recognised they needed a system — and someone to hold them to it

What changed with a certified implementer

• Kyle Kangas (implementer) understood EOS tools, language, and how to apply them across a multi-entity structure
• Lloyd Companies runs as one parent company with 10 sub-businesses — a structure that makes generic strategy hard
• Implementer kept leadership on track and reflecting against the EOS framework consistently

Leadership team restructuring

• Original Level 10 meetings included most division managers — too many people to move fast
• Consensus-seeking at that scale slowed every decision
• Through Focus Day and Vision Building Days 1–2, the leadership team was reduced to its current, smaller core

Outcomes

• Headcount grew from ~150 (2021) to ~500 (2024)
• Organisation-wide alignment on direction and strategy
• Transparency as a cultural output: clarity on what the business is doing and where it's going