The Audit Podcast – Ep 279: Using EOS to Build a Stronger Audit Function w/ Chris Hallberg (GoExpand)

Host: Trent Russell
Guest: Chris Hallberg, CEO of Business Sergeant & President of GoExpand
Released: March 31, 2026

Episode Overview

In this episode, Trent Russell sits down with Chris Hallberg—renowned EOS implementer and Inc.com-listed top 50 leadership and management expert—to explore how the Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS) framework can power high-performing internal audit teams. Chris breaks down the key EOS disciplines, including Vision, Issues, and Traction, with insightful examples and tactical takeaways, making a case for adopting EOS tools within internal audit departments and beyond. Together, they tackle the challenge of making strategy resonate at every level, building true accountability, and fostering sustainable change.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Introduction to EOS and Why It Matters

• [08:23] Chris describes EOS as “like CrossFit for business” — a holistic system designed to create consistency and accountability across organizations.
• EOS is not just for entrepreneurs; its principles are highly adaptable for specific functions, like internal audit, or even for other business units.
• Chris lays out the six core components of EOS: Vision, People, Data, Issues, Process, and Traction.

Notable Quote

“EOS is like CrossFit for business. If you do these six core exercises, you’ll look like an action figure—you’ll have a ripped company that can lift cars.”
– Chris Hallberg, [08:37]

2. Making Vision Real and Resonant

• Why organizations struggle: Too often, vision statements behave as “check-the-box” exercises, disconnected from staff (e.g., “Let me look that up, okay here it is, yeah, yeah…” [15:53]).
• EOS approach: Vision must be small, simple, actionable, and communicated constantly—everyone should be opting in or out (not somewhere in the uninspired middle).
• Best practice: Embed vision in everyday decisions. Encourage bottom-up feedback every 90 days. Use distilled, jargon-free statements.
• Tools: Two-page living document; regular team check-ins.

Notable Quotes

“When someone says, ‘let me look that up,’ you’ve already lost. It shouldn’t—It should be simple. It just is. Like, we’re here to do these three things.”
– Chris Hallberg, [18:15]

“In business, people don’t die from starvation, they die from indigestion—trying to eat too many things at once.”
– Chris Hallberg, [20:39]

“Just ask your team, does this feel good? Do you see anything that needs to be changed? Are we still current?”
– Chris Hallberg, [18:56]

Segment Timestamp: [15:53] - [21:24]

3. The Issues Component: Root Causes & Real Accountability

• Changing attitude toward issues: Issues shouldn’t be viewed as negatives; instead, treat them as needed discussion points.
• Three lists for issues:
  • Current quarter (short-term, solvable now)
  • Long-term (requires pre-work)
  • Solved/boneyard (“zombie issues” may recur)
• IDS Protocol: Identify (root cause, not just the symptom), Discuss, Solve — with clear seven-day To-Dos, tracked to 90% completion weekly.
• Accountability: Use an “accountability chart” (not just an org chart). Single-source of accountability, no sharing of responsibility to avoid diffusion.
• Meeting etiquette: Only the issue owner and relevant people speak; others “hush”—avoid “bunch ball” groupthink.
• Practical Application: Internal audit can apply this framework to both team process issues and findings across the organization, enabling more rigorous issue tracking and resolution.

Notable Quotes

“If you just pull a weed, there’ll be another weed. If you burn it with fire, cover it with concrete, no more weeds. So IDS is identifying the root issue, not just the convenient symptom.”
– Chris Hallberg, [24:34]

“We don’t have an organizational chart at EOS, we have an accountability chart—What do you own? What are you accountable for?”
– Chris Hallberg, [25:08]

“When those To-Dos are done at 90%, it’s really undeniable to stop a business from progressing and growing.”
– Chris Hallberg, [28:33]

Segment Timestamp: [23:26] - [29:48]

4. Traction: Bringing Vision Down to Ground Level

• Why traction is rare: Vision is cheap; execution is costly.
• The “90-day world”: All departments set and work towards quarterly “rocks”—key priorities tied to broader goals (10-year, 3-year, 1-year).
• Project management: Rocks are prioritized and tracked; completion builds “capacity and capability.”
• Meeting pulse: Annual two-day summits refresh the vision and big goals; quarterly offsites refine the plan; weekly “Level 10” meetings (with tight agenda, start/end on time) keep the whole system moving.
• Cultural side effect: Teams become “meeting snobs”—expecting every gathering to be purposeful and highly structured.

Notable Quotes

“Vision without traction is hallucination...Traction, it’s $10,000 a carrot; it’s really the rare thing.”
– Chris Hallberg, [29:54]

“If you do these five things—same place, same time, start on time, end on time, and use a very strict agenda—you make for world class meetings.”
– Chris Hallberg, [32:31]

Segment Timestamp: [29:48] - [33:30]

5. Tactical Use of AI and Leveraging Tools

• Chris uses AI (ChatGPT) for strategic brainstorming, marketing, vision simplification:
  • “Pretend you’re a Madison Avenue award-winning executive—summarize this in three words and an image.”
    ([06:11])
• Advises leveraging AI tools not just for content, but for processing and scaling strategy—“imagine adding 20 IQ points to your entire staff.”
• Both he and Trent have used ChatGPT to reword vision statements for senior executives/boards while keeping the actionable substance for teams.

Notable Quote

“It adds 20 points to your IQ if you use it correctly…Imagine adding 20 IQ points to your entire staff all at once.”
– Chris Hallberg, [06:40]

Segment Timestamp: [06:11] - [07:25]

6. Closing Thoughts & Resources

• Chris welcomes listeners to connect via LinkedIn or through his companies:
  • Business Sergeant: Veteran-powered recruiting, leadership coaching for veterans and companies seeking leadership.
  • GoExpand: Dynamic, EOS-licensed software for running the operating system with added AI functionality, chat, process & meeting management.
  • EOS Worldwide: Official platform for learning and deploying EOS.

Notable Quote

“As a figurehead I have the Business Sergeant…And secondly, GoExpand.com is my agentic EOS app…Ours is highly connected versus siloed. It has AI search and an AI bot with chat so you can put all your process there…”
– Chris Hallberg, [34:24–36:15]

Segment Timestamp: [34:24] - [36:15]

Memorable Moments & Quotes

• “It’s not a choose your own adventure. It’s opt in or opt out.”
  – Chris Hallberg, [00:00] / [18:17]

• “If you want a buzzworded vision statement for the board, put your real one in ChatGPT and let it give you every dumb buzzword you could ever want.”
  – Trent Russell, [21:24]

• “We become meeting snobs. When you’re really good at that traction component.”
  – Chris Hallberg, [33:26]

Timestamps for Key Segments

• What is EOS—overview and why it matters: [08:23] – [15:53]
• Vision—how to make it count: [17:59] – [21:24]
• Issues—protocols, IDS method, internal application: [23:26] – [29:48]
• Traction—rocks, meeting pulse, execution: [29:48] – [33:30]
• AI and practical tools for scaling strategy: [06:11] – [07:25]
• Closing remarks and resources: [34:24] – [36:15]

Takeaways for Audit Teams

• Vision: Make it clear, actionable, and reviewed frequently. Use team input, cut the jargon—everyone should know and believe in it.
• Issues: Embrace issues openly, identify true causes, assign single accountability, track with discipline.
• Traction: Tie strategy to quarterly goals (“rocks”), create a rhythm with structured meetings, prioritize and execute relentlessly.
• AI: Leverage it for both visioning and operational scaling.
• Resources: Don’t hesitate to look up EOS literature/tools, or reach out to experts like Chris for help in implementation.

For more on EOS or to connect with Chris Hallberg:

• LinkedIn: Chris Hallberg
• Business Sergeant: businesssergeant.com
• GoExpand: goexpand.com
• EOS Worldwide: eosworldwide.com