As an EOS implementer, I’ve seen firsthand how powerful well-defined Rocks can be in driving business growth. Setting effective Rocks is key to maintaining momentum and achieving your company’s long-term vision. By narrowing down your bigger business goals into quarterly Rocks, you create a clear roadmap that guides your team’s efforts and keeps everyone focused on what truly matters. However, simply setting Rocks isn’t enough; you must set them correctly to avoid common pitfalls that can derail your progress.
The Importance of Setting Effective Rocks
In the world of EOS, Rocks are the 1-3 most important priorities for your company or individual team members over the next quarter. Think of them as the big priorities that help you break down your broader vision and strategy into manageable, actionable chunks. When done right, Rocks keep your leadership team aligned and focused on no more than seven key priorities for the entire company each quarter. By prioritizing and completing these, you can drive significant progress and ensure that your team remains aligned and productive.
Common Pitfalls and How to Sidestep Them:
Avoiding common mistakes in the Rock-setting process can dramatically improve your outcomes. By refining your process, you’ll be better equipped to achieve meaningful results in your 90-Day World. Here are some of the most common missteps when it comes to Rocks, and practical advice to help you enhance your Rock-setting approach.
Mistake 1: Setting Too Many Rocks
It’s tempting to create a long list of Rocks, thinking more goals equals more progress. This often stems from difficulty in prioritizing or a desire to tackle everything at once. However, overcommitting often leads to underdelivering, causing reduced focus on what’s truly important, not to mention increased stress and burnout.
How to avoid: Stick to 3-7 Rocks for your company, focusing on true priorities. Quality trumps quantity when it comes to Rocks. Ask yourself, “If we accomplish only these few things this quarter, will we be satisfied with our progress?” Remember, it’s better to fully achieve a few important Rocks than to partially complete many.
Example: For several quarters, this team had been taking on 7 company rocks, and only completing 30-50% of those company rocks. Their progress was stalling, work was piling up, and nothing was getting done. Finally, the team challenged themselves to stick to only 4 Rocks – the 4 Rocks they absolutely needed to get done, and the remaining rock topics either moved to their Individual Rocks or to their issues list. That next quarter, the team achieved 100% of their rocks, moving the business forward!
Mistake 2: Lack of Specificity
Vague Rock statements like “Improve customer satisfaction” or “Increase sales” are too broad to be actionable. These types of Rocks tend to be difficult to measure, easy to misinterpret, and challenging to “say done to” because they lack clarity. Without specific targets, it’s impossible to know what success looks like.
How to avoid: To create more specific Rocks, use the SMART criteria (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, Time-bound). Include clear metrics and deadlines in your Rock statements and be precise about what actions will be taken. Make sure your rock is focused on the ‘what’ not the ‘how’ – you have 90 days to figure out and work on the how. If you were to step back from the business, what do you need to say done to at the end of this quarter?
Example: instead of “Enhance team productivity,” try, “Increase average team output from 50 to 60 units per week.”
Mistake 3: Misalignment with Company Goals
Sometimes, Rocks are set in isolation, failing to connect with the company’s Vision and long-term goals. This can create confusion and lead to wasted effort on initiatives that don’t really benefit the company. Aligned Rocks ensures that everyone’s effort contributes to long-term success, resources are allocated efficiently, and your entire organization is moving in the same direction.
How to avoid: Always tie Rocks back to annual goals and company vision. Before finalizing each Rock, ask, “How does this contribute to our short-term and long-term success?” If you can’t draw a clear line, it might not be the right Rock for this quarter. Also, make sure you regularly review and discuss the alignment in leadership team meetings and 555s.
Mistake 4: Unrealistic Expectations
While ambition in leadership is essential, setting Rocks that are too challenging can be demotivating and counterproductive. The purpose of creating Rocks is to create actual solutions to issues and make the big, seemingly unattainable goals, attainable. If your Rocks are so difficult that it leads to corner-cutting or unethical behavior to meet impossible targets, it defeats the purpose and can decrease motivation and morale.
How to avoid: Balance ambition with realism. Consider your team’s capacity and available resources. The goal is to complete at least 80% of your Rocks. We’re not going for perfectionism, but we shouldn’t start the quarter knowing we can’t achieve the goals we just set. Try to set goals that are challenging yet achievable within the quarter.
Mistake 5: Lack of Accountability
Even well-defined Rocks can fail if there’s no clear ownership or regular follow-up. This often results in Rocks falling through the cracks amid day-to-day operations, lack of progress due to assumptions that “someone else” is handling it, or difficulty in addressing issues or roadblocks promptly. Without accountability, it’s easy for priorities to shift and for Rocks to be neglected.
How to avoid: Assign clear owners to each Rock and establish regular check-ins (weekly at a minimum) to track progress. Remember, just because you “own” the Rock, doesn’t mean you have to do it all yourself, you’re just responsible for making sure it gets done! Use scorecards to visually represent progress and keep Rocks top-of-mind for the entire team. Address obstacles and provide support in real time. You could even implement a system of positive reinforcement for Rock achievement.
Mastering the Art of Rock-Setting
The 90-Day World of EOS is a powerful framework for driving consistent progress. By setting clear, achievable, and aligned Rocks, you’re laying the foundation for sustainable growth and success.
Focus on quality over quantity, be specific and measurable, be vigilant about alignment with company goals, set realistic yet ambitious targets, and establish clear accountability and follow-through. Remember, mastering Rocks is an ongoing journey. Some quarters you’ll be able to take on more than others. Take time to regularly review and refine your approach, learning from both successes and failures.
Have you encountered challenges in setting or achieving your Rocks? I’d love to hear about your experiences and insights. And if you’re looking to level up your Rock-setting skills, don’t hesitate to reach out for a brief, 20-minute meeting or additional resources. As your EOS Implementer, I can help make sure your Rocks are truly moving the needle for your business, quarter after quarter!
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