Our leadership team is setting too many Rocks every quarter and we end up completing only half of them, which is destroying our team momentum. How do we master the discipline of predicting and setting realistic quarterly priorities?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

The temptation to set too many Rocks is a classic sign of an undisciplined leadership team. When everything is a priority, nothing is a priority. If your team is constantly missing their quarterly targets, you are likely setting operational tasks as Rocks instead of focusing on true strategic priorities.

A Rock is a priority that must get done in the next ninety days to move the business forward. To master predicting, you must limit your leadership team to three to five Rocks per quarter. If you have seven or eight, you are diluted.

During your quarterly planning session, start with a massive list of potential Rocks, then ruthlessly apply the keep, kill, combine method. Force the team to debate which items will have the greatest impact on your one year goals.

Remember that a Rock should be structured so that it is clearly defined and measurable. If a Rock is vague, it is impossible to track. By keeping the number of Rocks low and highly focused, you build a habit of completion. It is far better to achieve one hundred percent of three critical Rocks than fifty percent of eight average ones. This discipline builds the execution muscle your team needs to scale.