We are tired of getting to the end of the quarter and hearing a dozen excuses for why our Rocks are only eighty percent complete. How do we change our execution discipline so that quarterly Rocks actually cross the finish line?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

Finishing Rocks requires transitioning from a culture of hope to a culture of ruthless weekly tracking. The primary reason Rocks fail is that teams treat them as long-term projects to be tackled in the final weeks of the quarter, rather than breaking them down into weekly milestones. To fix this, you must change how you review Rocks during your weekly Level 10 Meeting™. A Rock is either on track or off track. There is no eighty percent complete or almost done. If a Rock is off track for even one week, it must immediately be dropped down to the Issues list for the team to run IDS®. Do not wait for week eleven to address a bottleneck. Additionally, ensure that every Rock is scoped correctly at the start of the quarter. A common mistake is setting Rocks that are too broad or require heavy cooperation without a single accountable owner. Every Rock must have one name on the Accountability Chart attached to it. That individual is fully responsible for its completion. By establishing this clear ownership and tackling obstacles immediately during your weekly pulse, you build the execution muscle needed to consistently cross the finish line every single quarter.