Ceos Checkup

ceos-checkup

Measure organizational health using the standard EOS Organizational Checkup — a 20-question assessment across the Six Key Components (Vision, People, Data, Issues, Process, Traction). Each leadership team member rates the organization 1-5 on each question, and scores are calculated per component and overall. Use quarterly or semi-annually to track progress and surface alignment gaps.

Not for: Individual team member evaluation (use ceos-people), V/TO refresh (use ceos-annual), or quarterly Rock setting (use ceos-quarterly-planning).

When to Use

• "Run the organizational checkup" or "let's do the EOS checkup"
• "How healthy is the organization?" or "team health assessment"
• "Score the six key components" or "rate our EOS components"
• "Show checkup history" or "review past checkups"
• "Compare team ratings" or "show alignment gaps"
• "Are we improving on Vision/People/Data/Issues/Process/Traction?"
• Any discussion about overall organizational health, EOS component scores, or team alignment

Context

Finding the CEOS Repository

Search upward from the current directory for the .ceos marker file. This file marks the root of the CEOS repository.

If .ceos is not found, stop and tell the user: "Not in a CEOS repository. Clone your CEOS repo and run setup.sh first."

Sync before use: Once you find the CEOS root, run git -C pull --ff-only --quiet 2>/dev/null to get the latest data from teammates. If it fails (conflict or offline), continue silently with local data.

Key Files

| File | Purpose | |------|---------| | data/checkups/ | Checkup result files (one per session, dated) | | templates/checkup.md | Template for new checkup files | | data/vision.md | V/TO — Core Values, Core Focus, targets (read-only) | | data/accountability.md | Accountability Chart — team structure and seats (read-only) | | data/rocks/ | Quarterly Rocks for Traction context (read-only) | | data/scorecard/ | Weekly metrics for Data context (read-only) | | data/people/ | People evaluations for People context (read-only) | | data/issues/ | Open/resolved issues for Issues context (read-only) |

Checkup File Format

Each checkup is stored at data/checkups/YYYY-MM-DD.md with YAML frontmatter:

date: "2026-02-15"
participants:
  - name: "Brad Feld"
    ratings: [5, 4, 5, 4, 3, 4, 3, 4, 5, 4, 5, 4, 4, 5, 4, 3, 4, 5, 4, 3]
  - name: "Sarah Chen"
    ratings: [4, 5, 4, 5, 4, 3, 4, 5, 4, 5, 4, 5, 5, 4, 5, 4, 3, 4, 5, 4]
status: complete   # in_progress | complete
overall_score: 4.2
component_scores:
  vision: 4.3
  people: 4.1
  data: 4.0
  issues: 4.5
  process: 3.5
  traction: 4.3

Ratings array: 20 integers (1-5), indexed by question number (index 0 = Question 1, index 19 = Question 20). Use null for unanswered questions.

The 20 Standard Questions

The EOS Organizational Checkup uses these 20 canonical questions, grouped by the Six Key Components:

Vision (Questions 1-6)

| # | Question | |---|----------| | 1 | We have a clear vision in writing that has been properly communicated and is shared by everyone in the company. | | 2 | Our core values are clear, and we are hiring, reviewing, rewarding, and firing around them. | | 3 | Our Core Focus (core business) is clear, and we keep our people, systems and processes aligned and focused on it. | | 4 | Our 10-Year Target (big, long-range business goal) is clear, communicated regularly, and is shared by all. | | 5 | Our target market (definition of our ideal customer) is clear, and all of our marketing and sales efforts are focused on it. | | 6 | Our 3 Uniques (differentiators) are clear, and all of our marketing and sales efforts communicate them. |

People (Questions 7-10)

| # | Question | |---|----------| | 7 | We have a proven process for doing business with our customers. It has been named and visually illustrated, and all of our salespeople use it. | | 8 | All of the people in our organization are the "right people" (they fit our culture and share our core values). | | 9 | Our Accountability Chart (organizational chart that includes roles/responsibilities) is clear, complete, and constantly updated. | | 10 | Everyone is in the "right seat" (they "get it, want it, and have the capacity to do their jobs well"). |

Issues (Questions 11-12)

| # | Question | |---|----------| | 11 | Our leadership team is open and honest, and demonstrates a high level of trust. | | 12 | All teams clearly identify, discuss, and solve issues for the long-term greater good of the company. |

Traction (Questions 13-15)

| # | Question | |---|----------| | 13 | Everyone has Rocks (1 to 7 priorities per quarter) and is focused on them. | | 14 | Everyone is engaged in a regular Meeting Pulse (weekly, quarterly, annually). | | 15 | All meetings are on the same day and at the same time, have the same agenda, start on time, and end on time. |

Process (Question 16)

| # | Question | |---|----------| | 16 | Our Core Processes are documented, simplified, and followed by all to consistently produce the results we want. |

Data (Questions 17-20)

| # | Question | |---|----------| | 17 | We have systems for receiving regular feedback from customers and employees, so we always know their level of satisfaction. | | 18 | A Scorecard for tracking weekly metrics/measurables is in place. | | 19 | Everyone in the organization has at least one number they are accountable for keeping on track each week. | | 20 | We have a budget and are monitoring it regularly (e.g., monthly or quarterly). |

Rating Scale

| Rating | Meaning | |--------|---------| | 5 | Strongly agree — this is firmly in place | | 4 | Agree — mostly in place, minor gaps | | 3 | Neutral — partially in place, needs work | | 2 | Disagree — significant gaps exist | | 1 | Strongly disagree — not in place at all |

Component Scoring

Each component score is the average of its questions across all participants:

| Component | Questions | Count | |-----------|-----------|-------| | Vision | 1-6 | 6 | | People | 7-10 | 4 | | Issues | 11-12 | 2 | | Traction | 13-15 | 3 | | Process | 16 | 1 | | Data | 17-20 | 4 |

Overall score = average of all 20 questions across all participants.

Interpretation:

| Score | Rating | Action | |-------|--------|--------| | 4.0-5.0 | Strong | Maintain — this component is working | | 3.0-3.9 | Needs attention | Discuss at L10 — identify specific gaps | | 120 days:

📅 Last checkup was [N] days ago (recommended: quarterly / every 90 days).
   Consider running a new checkup to track progress.

Step 5: Component Deep Dive

Ask: "Want to drill into a specific checkup or component?"

If the user selects a checkup, display the full file with all participant ratings and action items.

If the user selects a component, show that component's score history across all checkups as a progression.

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Mode: Compare

Use when analyzing alignment gaps between team members' ratings on a specific checkup.

Step 1: Select Checkup

Default to the most recent checkup. If multiple exist, ask: "Which checkup? (Default: most recent — [date])"

Load the selected checkup file and parse participant ratings.

If the checkup has only one participant: "Alignment analysis requires 2+ participants. This checkup has only one. Run a new checkup with multiple team members, or select a different checkup."

Step 2: Calculate Per-Question Statistics

For each of the 20 questions, calculate across all participants:

• Mean: Average rating
• Min: Lowest rating
• Max: Highest rating
• Range: Max - Min
• Spread: Whether ratings are clustered or dispersed

Step 3: Identify Alignment Gaps

Flag questions where the team diverges significantly:

• High variance: Range >= 3 (e.g., one person rated 5, another rated 2)
• Moderate variance: Range = 2
• Aligned: Range = 3) — Discuss These

| # | Question (abbreviated) | Brad | Sarah | Mike | Avg | Range | Flag | |---|------------------------------|------|-------|------|-----|-------|------| | 7 | Proven customer process | 5 | 2 | 3 | 3.3 | 3 | 🔴 | | 16| Core Processes documented | 4 | 1 | 3 | 2.7 | 3 | 🔴 |

MODERATE VARIANCE (Range = 2) | # | Question (abbreviated) | Brad | Sarah | Mike | Avg | Range | Flag | |---|------------------------------|------|-------|------|-----|-------|------| | 3 | Core Focus clear | 5 | 3 | 4 | 4.0 | 2 | ⚠️ |

ALIGNED (Range = 3): 2 questions — need team discussion Moderate variance (Range 2): 1 question — worth reviewing Aligned (Range 120 days since last

Compare Mode

1. Alignment gap table: Questions sorted by variance (highest first)
2. Per-participant ratings: Side-by-side columns
3. Summary statistics: Count of high/moderate/aligned questions
4. Discussion topics: Top gaps with context for team conversation

Guardrails

• Always show the complete file before writing. Never save a checkup file without displaying it to the user for review and approval.
• Validate ratings are 1-5 integers. If a participant gives a rating outside 1-5, re-prompt: "Ratings must be 1-5 (1=strongly disagree, 5=strongly agree)." Do not accept decimals.
• Present questions in component order. Always group questions by component (Vision, People, Issues, Traction, Process, Data) rather than randomizing or reordering.
• Don't skip questions. All 20 questions should be asked. If a participant cannot answer, store null and note it. Don't silently omit questions.
• Don't auto-invoke other skills. When low scores suggest using another skill (e.g., "Process is weak, run ceos-process"), mention the option but let the user decide. Say "Would you like to run ceos-process?" rather than invoking it automatically.
• Sensitive data warning. On first use in a session, remind the user: "Organizational Checkup ratings contain sensitive assessments of company health. Ensure this repository is private, not public."
• Use alignment gaps as conversation starters. Compare mode surfaces disagreements. Frame these constructively: "The team sees this differently — worth discussing" rather than "These people are wrong."
• Don't interpret scores prescriptively. The skill calculates and displays scores, but the meaning and action belong to the leadership team. Suggest relevant skills, don't mandate actions.
• Flag stale checkups. In Review mode, flag if the most recent checkup is > 120 days old. This is informational, not blocking.
• Questions are canonical. Do not modify, reword, or add custom questions. This skill implements the standard EOS Organizational Checkup.

Integration Notes

V/TO (ceos-vto)

• Direction: Read
• What data: data/vision.md — Core Values, Core Focus, 10-Year Target, 1-Year Plan
• Purpose: Provides context for Vision component questions (Q1-6). Core Values referenced in Run mode setup. V/TO changes may shift how the team rates Vision questions.

Accountability Chart (ceos-accountability)

• Direction: Read
• What data: data/accountability.md — seats and owners
• Purpose: Suggests participants for checkup sessions. The Accountability Chart defines who the "leadership team" is. Also provides context for People component questions (Q7-10).

Rocks (ceos-rocks)

• Direction: Read
• What data: data/rocks/ — current quarter's Rocks
• Purpose: Provides context for Traction component questions (Q13-15). Current Rock status shows whether the team is executing with discipline.

Scorecard (ceos-scorecard)

• Direction: Read
• What data: data/scorecard/ — metrics and weekly entries
• Purpose: Provides context for Data component questions (Q17-20). Active metrics count and Scorecard health inform the Data component discussion.

People Analyzer (ceos-people)

• Direction: Read
• What data: data/people/ — person evaluations
• Purpose: Provides context for People component questions (Q8-10). Current "right people, right seats" percentage gives context for how the team rates People health.

IDS (ceos-ids)

• Direction: Read
• What data: data/issues/open/ and data/issues/resolved/
• Purpose: Provides context for Issues component questions (Q11-12). Open issues count and resolution patterns inform the Issues component discussion. Low-scoring components may generate new issues via ceos-ids.

Annual Planning (ceos-annual)

• Direction: Related
• What data: data/annual/ — annual planning records
• Purpose: Annual planning includes an organizational checkup as Section 4. Checkup results from ceos-checkup can be referenced during annual planning to track year-over-year progress.

Quarterly Planning (ceos-quarterly-planning)

• Direction: Related
• What data: data/quarterly/ — quarterly planning records
• Purpose: Quarterly planning may reference checkup trends to inform Rock priorities. Low-scoring components suggest where to focus next quarter's Rocks.

Write Principle

Only ceos-checkup writes to data/checkups/. Other skills (particularly ceos-annual and ceos-quarterly-planning) may read checkup data for trend analysis and planning context, but they do not create or modify checkup files.

Source & license

This open-source skill is cataloged on AgentStack and links to its original source — we do not rehost the code.

• Author: bradfeld
• Source: bradfeld/ceos
• License: MIT

Install and usage instructions live in the source repository linked above.