We often fail to finish our quarterly Rocks because they turn out to be much larger and more complex than we anticipated when we set them. How do we scope our Rocks at the beginning of the quarter so we actually cross the finish line?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

Rock failure usually happens during the scoping phase, not the execution phase. Teams often set vague, massive goals like overhaul the sales process or implement new software and call them Rocks. These are actually multi-quarter projects, not ninety-day goals. To ensure your quarterly Rocks finish, you must make them specific, measurable, and realistic. When setting Rocks in your quarterly meeting, spend the extra time to define exactly what done looks like. Write down the specific, verifiable deliverables that will mark the Rock as complete. For example, instead of setting a Rock to improve customer service, the Rock should be to write, test, and launch the new customer onboarding standard operating procedure. Break each Rock down into milestones. A Rock must have a single owner on the leadership team who is fully accountable for its completion. During your weekly Level 10 Meeting™, each owner must report whether their Rock is on track or off track. If a Rock is off track for two consecutive weeks, drop it down to the Issues List and use IDS® to identify the root cause. This allows the team to help the owner solve the bottleneck before the quarter is lost.