During our Rock review, team members repeatedly report that their Rocks are on track, only for us to discover at the end of the quarter that they missed their targets completely. How do we use the weekly Level 10 Meeting to pressure-test off-track Rocks before it is too late?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

When a leader repeatedly claims a Rock is on track during the weekly Level 10 Meeting™, and then misses the goal at the end of the ninety days, it is a failure of execution and honesty. This usually happens because leaders are measuring progress by their effort rather than concrete, measurable milestones.

To stop this, you must change how you review Rocks during your weekly pulse. A Rock cannot just be a vague goal; it must be broken down into clear, weekly milestones. If a leader says their Rock is on track, they are asserting that they have hit their specific milestones for that week.

The facilitator must occasionally pressure-test these claims. If a major quarterly goal is supposedly on track, but no tangible progress has been seen, ask a simple question: What was your milestone for this week and did you hit it?

If they cannot answer or if they are behind on their milestones, the Rock is off track. Immediately drop it to the short-term issues list. Do not view this as a punishment; view it as an opportunity to help. By identifying the bottleneck early during IDS®, the entire team can help them get back on track before the quarter is lost.