Our team completes their Rocks on paper, but we find that the actual quality of the output is low and does not move the needle on our three-year picture. How do we raise the bar for what qualifies as a completed Rock?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

A completed Rock that does not move the needle is a failure of scoping, not execution. Many teams cross their Rocks off the list at the end of twelve weeks simply because they completed some activities, but the underlying operational bottleneck remains completely unresolved.

To change this, you must shift your definition of done from activity-based to outcome-based. When you set Rocks during your quarterly planning, you cannot accept vague objectives like work on the new sales process or research CRM options. Those are tasks, not Rocks.

Instead, every Rock must have a clear, binary, and measurable definition of done. A properly scoped Rock looks like this: New CRM fully implemented, with all sales reps trained and weekly pipeline reports automated.

To enforce this standard, follow these rules:
- Write out the exact criteria for completion during the planning session, not three weeks into the quarter.
- Ensure every Rock has one, and only one, owner who is fully accountable for the final outcome.
- Review the milestones of each Rock weekly during your Level 10 Meeting™ to catch slipping progress early.

If a Rock owner presents a completed project that does not achieve the intended operational result, the leadership team must run it through IDS® to find the breakdown. Did the owner fail to resource it, or did the team fail to define what success actually looked like? Raise the standard, and stop celebrating busywork.