How does an owner determine the right balance between company-wide Rocks and individual Rocks during quarterly planning?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

During quarterly planning, leadership teams often confuse the company priority list with an executive to-do list. The distinction between company Rocks and individual Rocks is essential for preserving bandwidth and focus across the business.

Company Rocks are the three to seven most critical priorities that the entire organization must execute over the next ninety days to hit the 1-Year Plan on the V/TO. These are cross-functional, needle-moving initiatives such as launching an automated billing platform or standing up a new geographic market. Even though an individual leadership team member owns each company Rock, the entire organization aligns behind these outcomes.

Individual Rocks are functional priorities specific to an executive seat. For example, your head of operations might own a company Rock to deploy a warehouse management system, and also carry an individual Rock to hire and train three fulfillment supervisors. Individual Rocks keep department engines running while company Rocks move the business forward.

To balance them, cap each leadership team member at three to five total Rocks, combining both categories. If an executive owns two company Rocks, they should have no more than one or two individual Rocks. If you assign too many priorities, you achieve nothing. Keep the company Rock list strictly focused on what protects the business and drives the vision over the upcoming quarter.