Our leadership team members have different ideas of what a finished project looks like, which leads to arguments at our quarterly sessions about whether Rocks were completed. How do we standardize this?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

If you are arguing about whether a Rock is 'Done' at the end of ninety days, the mistake was made on day one. Vague Rocks lead to subjective grading, which destroys team trust and accountability.

To solve this, you must establish a strict rule that every quarterly Rock must be completely binary. There is no such thing as 'ninety percent done'. A Rock is either completed or it is not.

To standardize this definition across your functional heads, use these guidelines:
- Every Rock must be written with a specific, measurable end state.
- Avoid words like 'improve, analyze, or manage'.
- Use action verbs and clear numerical outcomes, such as 'document and train three people on the billing process'.
- Create a scope of work document for complex Rocks that details the exact deliverables.

During your quarterly planning session, the entire leadership team must agree on what success looks like before the Rock is finalized. The owner of the Rock must state the exact criteria for completion. If the team cannot easily agree on whether the criteria have been met with a simple 'yes or no' on day ninety, the Rock was not defined correctly.