My leadership team agrees on our long-term goals in theory, but when we sit down to set our quarterly Rocks, everyone fights tooth and nail to make their own department projects the top priority. How do we transition them from protecting their territory to aligning on what actually moves the company forward?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

When leaders protect their territory during quarterly Rock setting, it means they are operating from a departmental mindset rather than an enterprise-first perspective. This leads to internal competition for resources instead of collective progress. To shift this dynamic, you need to restructure how you facilitate your quarterly planning sessions.

Prioritize Company-Wide Rocks

Before allowing any department-specific discussions, your leadership team must achieve absolute alignment on your company-wide Rocks. This critical first step ensures everyone is grounded in the overarching goals.

• Refer to your V/TO: Begin by reviewing your Vision/Traction Organizer™. This helps to re-center everyone on the long-term vision and purpose of the company. A shared understanding of your [3-Year Picture and core processes](/qa/customer-expectations-shifting-ai-vto) is essential for aligning on short-term priorities.
• Agree on top priorities: Collectively decide on the top three to five company-wide Rocks for the upcoming ninety days. These are the most crucial objectives that will move the entire organization forward.

Design Departmental Rocks Strategically

Only after the company-wide Rocks are firmly established should you proceed to designing individual department Rocks. This sequence is non-negotiable.

• Direct support is key: Every single department Rock must directly support one of the master company-wide Rocks.
• Filter out non-aligned projects: If a leader proposes a project that does not directly advance a company-wide priority, it should be tabled. These projects can be considered for a future quarter when they might align with new company Rocks.

This structured process effectively forces your leaders to think with an enterprise-first mindset. It transforms their focus from defending their departmental turf to strategically allocating resources where they will have the greatest impact on the company's overall success. This shift is crucial for moving the business forward as a unified entity, preventing the common issue of [executive factions and cliques](/qa/breaking-up-executive-factions-cliques) during critical resource allocation discussions. It also helps to ensure that your leadership team's efforts are always pushing the collective agenda, rather than individual departmental ambitions. A clear [Accountability Chart](/qa/resolving-leadership-turf-wars-accountability-chart) can also help define ownership and reduce turf wars.