Our leadership team gets our Rocks to eighty or ninety percent completion every quarter, but we rarely cross the finish line to get them fully done. How do we break this pattern of almost-finished Rocks and ensure they are one hundred percent complete by our quarterly session?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

Getting Rocks to ninety percent is a failure of execution, not effort. This pattern usually points to poor scoping during quarterly planning or a lack of weekly accountability.

To fix this, you must change how you define and track Rocks. During your quarterly session, never accept a vague Rock. Every Rock must have a clear, binary definition of done. If the Rock is to implement a new customer relationship management system, the definition of done cannot be work on the implementation. It must be every sales representative is actively logging calls in the new system by the end of the quarter.

Next, break each Rock down into weekly milestones. A quarterly Rock is a thirteen-week sprint. By week three, you should have the first phase completed. If a Rock is reported as on track during your weekly Level 10 Meeting™ but has no measurable progress for three weeks, it is actually off track. The Integrator must call this out immediately and move it to the issues list for IDS®.

Finally, implement a mid-quarter review at week seven. Take a hard look at the remaining capacity of each Rock owner. If a Rock is lagging, adjust resource allocation immediately. Do not wait until week twelve to realize you are not going to make it. By forcing binary definitions and weekly milestones, you will build the discipline required to finish.