We want to use our quarterly Rocks to prepare for due diligence before our exit, but our day-to-day operations are so heavy that our exit-prep Rocks keep getting pushed to the last week of the quarter. How do we ensure these long-term valuation-building goals do not get buried by daily firefighting?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

When exit-prep Rocks get pushed to the last week of the quarter, it is a sign that your leadership team is still trapped in the day-to-day operations and lacks the capacity to work on the business. To protect these critical valuation-building goals, you must treat them with the same urgency as operational fires. First, limit the number of Rocks you assign. If a leader has three operational Rocks and one exit-prep Rock, they will naturally prioritize the immediate operational issues. Keep it to one or two high-impact Rocks per person. Second, use your weekly Level 10 Meeting™ to track progress. During the Rock review, if a leader reports that an exit Rock is off track, do not wait until week twelve to address it. Drop it down to the IDS® list immediately and solve the capacity constraint. This might mean delegating some of their daily operational tasks to a direct report on the Accountability Chart or using automation to free up their time. If you do not make space for these strategic priorities, you will never build the clean, systems-driven business that buyers pay a premium for.