Execution · Proving to Growing
A rock you actually hit
You write a rock that's either done or not done on the last day of the quarter, give it one owner, and see early enough whether it's falling behind.
Does this sound familiar?
- At the start of the quarter there are twelve priorities on the board. By the end, two are done.
- On the last day of the quarter you're arguing about whether 'improve the quoting process' worked out.
- A priority has two owners. When it stalls, each of them thought the other was on it.
- You only notice in the last month that a priority is behind, and then you take it over yourself.
Who it's for, and when
For founders, members of the leadership team and employees who choose priorities every quarter and find half of them don't get done. In Proving you pick one or two rocks for the company, and you're often the owner yourself. From Organising onwards there's a name other than yours on every rock, and personal rocks come in. In Searching it's still too early: the direction changes faster than a quarter.
The model
A rock is a step in building your business that has to be done this quarter, and you know in advance what done looks like. Whether something is a rock, an OKR, a project or a KPI is covered in the lesson Rock, OKR or project: which do you choose? This lesson is about how you write a rock, assign it and keep track of it. If a number has to move while the route is still open, read the lesson OKRs: a goal, and how you know you've got there.
Pick three to five for the company. The fewer you pick, the more gets done, and whatever drops off moves to a later quarter. Every rock has one owner. They don't have to do all the work, but they're accountable for getting it done and decide for themselves how. You ask how it's going, not how they're doing it.
Write one sentence in advance that tells you, on the last day, that it's done. In the first week the owner adds the tasks underneath. After that, every week you compare progress with how much of the quarter has gone: a rock at 20% is on track in week two and well behind in week ten.
Verne Harnish, Mastering the Rockefeller Habits (2002): three to five quarterly priorities, each with one owner. Gino Wickman turned it into a fixed rhythm in Traction (2007): done or not done after ninety days, with rocks for the company and for each person. The image of the big rocks comes from Stephen Covey, First Things First (1994).
Only a few
Three to five for the company, and three at most per person. Choosing means saying no to good ideas.
One owner
One name per rock. Others help by taking on tasks. The owner chooses the approach and speaks up early if they get stuck.
The done sentence
On [last day], [result] is [finished, live, signed or in use], which you can see from [something you can point to]. On that day everyone should give the same answer, yes or no.
Company rocks and personal rocks
The leadership team chooses a company rock for the whole company, and everyone can see it. A personal rock is what one person has to get done this quarter: often a piece of a company rock, sometimes something from their own department. Recurring work is never a rock, personal or otherwise. That's a KPI.
Progress against time
Keeping pace with the time, or ahead of it, is on track. From 80% of that pace it needs attention, and below that it's behind. That way you see it in week four, rather than week twelve.
Pitfalls
Too big for ninety days
'Replace the ERP' won't fit in one quarter. Cut it down to what can be done this quarter, such as 'the new system has been chosen and the contract signed'. The next step is the rock for the quarter after.
Taking it back
A rock is behind and you take it over yourself, because that's quicker. This quarter, perhaps. Next quarter it's yours again, and from then on the owner waits for you to step in. Ask what they need, and leave the rock with them.
Rolling over without asking why
If a rock rolls over, first ask why it didn't get done: too big, no real owner, or not that important after all. Then choose: make it smaller, give it to someone else, or drop it.
Watch and read
Wickman's EOS channel in two minutes: a few priorities for ninety days, for the company and for each person, and why fewer gets you more.
Watch on YouTubeAn EOS implementer on how to write a rock so the team hits it: a clear end point, one owner, and new ones every quarter.
Watch on YouTubeThe man who came up with the quarterly priority on why a few priorities and a steady rhythm get you further than a long list.
Watch on YouTubeTo go further
A Dutch-language episode on rocks in the Scaling Up method, with examples of how to cut a big project down to what can be done this quarter.
Watch on YouTubeRead
Traction: Get a Grip on Your Business
Gino Wickman · 2011 · ISBN 9781936661831
The chapter on rocks: a few per company and per person, one owner, done or not done after ninety days. First published in 2007; this is the BenBella Books edition. Short enough for a weekend.
View the bookScaling Up: How a Few Companies Make It...and Why the Rest Don't
Verne Harnish · 2014 · ISBN 9780986019524
The quarterly column of the One-Page Strategic Plan and the chapter on priorities. Also available in Dutch as Scaling up: de groeiformule (Business Contact, 2016, ISBN 9789047008682).
View the bookApply it
- 1
Pick three to five company rocks
With your leadership team, list everything that ought to happen this quarter, and take out whatever isn't a rock. Then pick the three to five that bring you closest to your objectives for the year. The rest goes on a list for next quarter.
- 2
Write the done sentence for each rock
Use the template below. Read the sentence out loud and test it: can you say yes or no on the last day, can you show the evidence, and is it free of 'improve', 'optimise' and 'look into'?
- 3
Give every rock one owner, and let them choose how
In the first week the owner adds the tasks underneath, each with a name and a date. Anyone taking on a piece of a company rock turns it into a personal rock.
- 4
Check progress every week
Compare progress with the time that's gone. If a rock needs attention, ask the owner what they need. At the end of the quarter you decide for each rock: completed, roll over, or drop.
Examples
Template: the done sentence
On [last day of the quarter], [result] is [finished / live / signed / in use], which you can see from [what you can point to]. Test: - Can you say yes or no on that day? - Can you show the evidence? - Would everyone on the leadership team give the same answer? Before: 'Improve the quoting process.' After: 'By 31 March, every quote goes out within two working days of the first meeting, which you can see from the dates on the last twenty quotes.'
A company rock with personal rocks underneath
An agency picks this company rock: 'On 30 June, every client who signed since April has started with the standard kick-off, which you can see from the notes in the client file.' The owner is the project lead, and she decides how. Her personal rock: 'On 30 April the kick-off agenda is ready and has been tried with one client.' The account manager takes on a piece: 'By 15 May, every client who signs gets the kick-off invitation within a day.' The founder wanted to be the owner. He's now down for one task: running the first kick-off.
A wholesaler with a rock that's behind
The new warehouse system was at 15% in week six, with half the quarter gone. It showed as behind. The owner said the supplier couldn't start until January. The managing director didn't take it over, but asked what could be done this quarter. The rock became: contract signed and set-up finished. Going live is the rock for next quarter.
Do this in your own business
Everything up to here is free. What you fill in for your own business, you keep in Boldcaster.
- Go to Priorities. Choose New and then Rock. Put the done sentence in the description, choose one owner and add the tasks underneath. Filter by owner to see someone's personal rocks. The card shows whether a rock is on track, needs attention or is behind.
- You look back on a situation from your own work. Only you can read what you write.
- You set a date with yourself, and on that day the app asks how it went.
- You assign the lesson to your team and see who has done it.
- The quiz counts towards your progress, and you see which lesson comes next.
Four weeks free. You'll land straight in this lesson.
Quiz
6 situations. You need 5 of 6 right. You can try again at any time.
1.Your operations manager proposes a rock: 'replace the ERP'. The old system still works, and the new one hasn't been chosen yet. What do you do?
2.On the last day of the quarter, the leadership team can't agree whether the rock 'improve the quoting process' worked out. What would have prevented this?
3.It's week three of the quarter. A rock is at 30% and the status says on track. Your colleague on the leadership team thinks 30% is low. Who's right?
4.A member of the leadership team sets these personal rocks: 'send the invoices every week', 'monthly figures ready on time' and 'on 1 April the new pricing model is on the website'. What do you say?
5.Week seven. Your sales manager's rock, 'the three biggest clients on the new contract', is behind. You know those clients better and want to call them yourself. What do you do?
6.The quarter's over and the rock 'staff handbook' is rolling over for the third time. What do you do first?
Nothing is saved here. In the app, the quiz counts towards your progress.
Read next
- OKRs: a goal, and how you know you've got there · You write an OKR with a goal in plain words and two to five key results that show, without argument, whether you've got there. Then you derive your teams' OKRs from it.
- Writing down how you work, without a thick manual · You write down one way of working that a colleague can follow without you, with an owner who keeps it up to date, and you know who knows it.
- The quarterly session · Every quarter you hold a half-day session with your team. It closes off the priorities, draws the lessons from them, and ends with a few new priorities and the KPI targets for the next quarter.
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