The biggest (and most common) issue I see when EOS® self-implementers begin setting Rocks is they are not SMART.
By that, I mean Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Timely.
You might see this acronym around the New Year when people start setting new goals or resolutions. All Rocks are goals. More than that, they’re priorities. Pretty big priorities, too, which is why you should only have about 3-7 company Rocks per quarter.
Here’s how to set EOS® SMART Rocks at the beginning of the quarter.
Setting EOS® Rocks
Before you get down to making your Rocks SMART, let’s review how you should set Rocks:
- List everything that needs to be accomplished within the company in the next 90 days, including Issues.
- Keep, kill, and combine your list until you have a set of actionable items to work on.
- From your list, choose the 3-7 priorities for the quarter.
- Set a due date for these priorities—it’s usually the end of the quarter (March 31, June 31, September 31, or December 31.)
Now, let’s talk about how to make them SMART.
Specific
Specific asks the question, “What will be achieved?”
Begin with the desired outcome. For example, if your salespeople need more case studies to show prospective clients, the specific goal might be, “Create four new project portfolios to show to prospects.”
Make sure you understand it and you can measure to it.
Measurable
Measurable asks the question, “How will the outcome be measured?”
You should easily be able to determine if your Rock is “done” or “not done” by the end of the quarter.
For our project portfolios example, you would measure the outcome by the number of portfolios completed and available for salespeople to show prospects. Choose an attainable number (more on that later) and that you can reasonably complete in a quarter.
Attainable
Attainable asks the question, “Do you have the capacity this quarter to get it done?”
Make sure you have:
- The time
- The resources
- The knowledge
- The people
If you don’t, start with one of those areas instead. Your Rock may be to gather the resources, people, or knowledge you need.
Back to our example—you might discover that creating one project portfolio will take you a month, so you decide that completing three portfolios over the course of a quarter is an attainable number.
Realistic
Realistic asks, “Can this task actually be done in 90 days?”
If it can’t, then you need to pick a different Rock or break your Rock down even further.
In the case of the project portfolio example, this Rock is realistic if you’ve determined that you have the time and capacity to complete the Rock (especially by setting parameters during the Attainable step.)
Timely
Timely asks, “What milestones will help you achieve this Rock?”
Without a timeline, you’ll easily fall off track from getting your Rock done.
Start with the end in mind—with what needs to be done by the end of the quarter, and work backward from there. Having a timeline will also help you report on your progress at each weekly meeting.
Make Your Rocks SMARTer
Do not start on a Rock until you are certain it is SMART. And certainly don’t start on a Rock if you’re confused about any piece of it.
That’s a recipe for chaos—and a Rock that’s “not done” at the end of the quarter.
Start with clarity. Prioritize what needs to get done. And hold one another accountable by reporting out Rocks at every weekly meeting.
Then, you can start revolutionizing your business.
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