We struggle to finish our quarterly Rocks because we write them as vague, ongoing operational goals rather than specific, measurable milestones. How do we write Rocks that have a clear, binary finish line?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

The reason your Rocks never seem to finish is that you are writing them as ongoing job descriptions rather than ninety-day priorities. Writing a Rock like "improve customer service training" or "work on marketing plan" guarantees failure because there is no clear, binary definition of done. When week twelve arrives, the owner thinks the Rock is incomplete, while the seat holder insists they worked hard and therefore completed it.

To break this cycle, every Rock must be written with a specific, measurable, and objective finish line. It must be binary: either it is done, or it is not done. There is no partial credit in EOS®.

When defining a Rock, use the SMART framework and tie it to a concrete deliverable. Instead of "improve customer service training," your Rock should be "create, document, and train the customer service team on the new three-step onboarding process by week ten." Instead of "work on marketing plan," it should be "publish three landing pages and launch the Q2 ad campaign."

Before you finalize your list of Rocks at your quarterly session, go around the table and ask each leader to explain exactly what the finished product looks like. If they cannot describe the final deliverable in a single, clear sentence, rewrite the Rock. This simple discipline ensures everyone has the exact same picture of what crossing the finish line looks like, eliminating subjective debates at the end of the quarter.