We have successfully run EOS® at the leadership level for six months and now want to cascade Rocks to our middle management team. How do we roll this out to Tier 2 without creating mass confusion or overloading them with bureaucratic goals?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

Cascading Rocks to middle management is a critical step in scaling your business, but it must be done with care. If you simply announce that everyone now has quarterly goals without proper context, your team will view it as extra homework and resist the change.

Start by ensuring your leadership team is fully aligned on the company Rocks first. Your middle managers cannot set their department-level goals in a vacuum; their Rocks must directly support the company-level Rocks. Hold an alignment meeting where the leadership team shares the company V/TO and the Rocks for the upcoming quarter. Explain the why behind each priority.

Next, train your managers on how to write a good Rock. Teach them that a Rock must be SMART: specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and timely. A Rock is not a list of daily job duties; it is a priority that moves the department or the company forward.

Keep the initial rollout simple. For the first quarter, limit each middle manager to just one Rock. Do not ask them to cascade Rocks to their direct reports yet. Let them get comfortable with the process of setting, tracking, and achieving a single priority before expanding the expectation.

Finally, use the weekly Level 10 Meeting at the departmental level to keep these Rocks on track. If a manager's Rock is off-track, it should be dropped to the Issues List so the team can help solve it. This supportive environment is key to making the discipline stick.