We set our quarterly Rocks but frequently find that progress stalls because the person responsible for the Rock does not actually have the authority or resources to execute it without constantly waiting for other department heads to sign off. How do we resolve cross-functional dependencies during Rock planning?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

Failing to finish Rocks because of cross-functional dependencies is a structural planning failure, not an execution failure. This happens when a leader sets a Rock during a quarterly session without realizing they need significant help from another department to get it across the finish line. When they ask for that help mid-quarter, they find the other department head is fully booked with their own Rocks. To solve this, you must change how you establish and agree upon Rocks during your quarterly planning sessions. First, remember that only one person can own a Rock. If two people own it, nobody owns it. Second, during the setting and scoping of Rocks, you must explicitly ask this question: what resources do you need from other departments to complete this? If the marketing director needs thirty hours of development time from the IT department to finish a Rock, that commitment must be negotiated and agreed upon right there in the room. If the IT director cannot commit the resources because of their own department priorities, you have two choices: - You must adjust the scope of the Rock so it does not require IT resources. - You must postpone the Rock to a future quarter when the resources are available. By forcing these hard conversations during your quarterly session, you eliminate the mid-quarter bottlenecks. This level of alignment is exactly why working with an EOS Implementer is so valuable; they ensure these dependencies are flushed out and resolved before you leave the room.