The Power of Rocks

Topic: Goal Setting

Time: 10min

Takeaway: Do less better! Create a 90-Day world to achieve higher focus and execution!

Tool: Rocks (90-Day Priorities)

Tip: Clarify and simplify your focus by setting your top 3-7 business priorities for the next 90 days!

Try: Conduct a Weekly Level 10 Meeting with your Leadership Team to review your Rocks and stay "on-track"!

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INTRO:

When you consider your life, what matters most? Learning to make decisions in light of what matters most is a sign of a mature and responsible leader. This life principle is called prioritization. If you want to have greater impact and higher execution, focus on doing less! Narrow in on what matters most within a specified time. To increase your execution, be specific, keep it simple, stay consistent, and most of all stay focused on the right priorities! Measure, manage, and monitor your progress each week! In this article, I will unpack what “Rocks” are, why they matter, and how to set and achieve them!

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WHAT ARE ROCKS?

When you think of "Rocks" think "90-Day Priorities.” Rocks are the top 3-7 business priorities that MUST get done over the next 90 days. This includes the Company Rocks and Individual Rocks (each specific Leadership?Team Member). Rocks are the three to seven most important (or significant) things that the Leadership Team is going to do in the next 90 days.

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WHERE DID ROCKS COME FROM?

The concept of “Rocks” was made popular by Stephen Covey in his famous analogy of a glass jar, water, sand, pebbles, and rocks. If you look at your day as a glass jar, you only have 24 hours. How will you prioritize and organize your time and energy? Most people get distracted. They focus on the water first. They wake up and check their phone. They look at emails. They respond to texts. They live in reactive mode. Water is all the reactive small stuff that peppers you throughout the whole day. Then the day gets going and the typical business leader will attack sand next. That is the quick response emails, the missed calls, the day-to-day operations. They feel good about themselves, but their time and energy is running low. The day continues and they begin to get some of the pebbles done. Those harder conversations. Those important sales calls. Those bigger emails. That meeting. Their energy is getting sucked up and they are exhausted. The day is almost over and now they begin to attempt to focus on the Rocks. Those big, important, very important actions they must take today. Guess what? It’s 4:30pm. When they start calling new prospects, no one answers. When they finally sit down to have that important follow up call or meeting – they are out of time. The most important things they needed to do are not getting done. They lived reactively instead of proactively. In Covey’s analogy, the big Rocks don’t fit. Instead reverse the order. Start with BIG Rocks first, then pebbles, then sand, and then lastly put water in. It all fits in the glass jar. Bottom line is this: live in such a way where you are being proactive not reactive. Focus your time, energy, and attention on the things that matter most. How does this relate to the Rocks concept mentioned earlier? Instead of looking at your time in 24-hour segments, view it as 90-Day segments. What MUST get done in the next 90 days? Then each day, each week, each month – refocus your limited energy and attention into getting those things done. Don’t let what matters least hinder you from what matters most. Wickman says it best, “When everything is important, nothing is important” (Wickman 2011, p. 171).

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WHERE DO ROCKS SHOW UP IN THE EOS PROCESS?

They show up in three primary places. First, in the Vision Component – within the Vision/Traction Organizer (V/TO) – Question 7 “What are your Rocks?” Second, in the Traction Component – it’s the first discipline used to get strong in this component. Third, in the Weekly Level 10 Meeting – one of the agenda items for this weekly meeting is doing a “Rock Review.” Here you and your Leadership Team are saying “ON TRACK” or “OFF TRACK” or “COMPLETE” as you each read out loud one by one the exact Rock that was set for that 90-Day time frame (Company and Individual).

WHY DO ROCKS MATTER?

Rocks create laser?focus, strong?discipline, and high?accountability?to produce precise?execution?on a few really?important?things! Rocks help you prioritize and maximize your energy and effort on the right activities! Rocks are mainly a way to train and teach and empower and test your clients on seeing how well they are at "Predicting!" and "Prioritization!” Rocks creates a 90-Day World! At EOS Worldwide, they call this concept living in “The 90-Day World.” You and your team work IN the business for a 90-day period. You all focus hard for 90 days. You say no to the good so you can say yes to the best. You stay disciplined and execute on a few things at a high level of excellence! Once you hit 90 days, you pause from working IN the business and now begin working ON the business. Then you come up for air. You check progress. You review growth. You assess how you did. You re-align as a team. You re-check with the vision. Most people fall off track every 90 days or so. You recommit to staying laser-focused on the vision. You set new priorities for the next 90 days. Then you go back into working IN the business with fury and vengeance! One other way concept here is the 90-Minute World! This is your Level 10 Meeting! It's the same concept but you do this once a week for 90 minutes. It's a time to stop working IN the business so you can work ON the business, once a week, for 90 minutes. You connect, report, solve, and conclude. For an in-depth review of this, check out these two resources:

Resource #1 - The Level 10 Meeting - Teaching Video (18min)

Resource #2 - The Level 10 Meeting - Teaching Article

According to Joseph Jaffe, EOS Implementer, another way to use the 90-day world concept is to have quarterly conversations. Joseph explains it best by describing what should happen every quarter with the key leaders of the company. The goal is for them to engage in quarterly conversations with their direct reports. These conversations are informal yet impactful, focusing on what’s working, and what’s not, and how to support each team member’s growth and alignment with the company’s goals. This approach ensures that employees feel connected and supported beyond their initial onboarding phase. Onboarding doesn’t end after the first week or month. It’s a continuous process that integrates new hires into the company’s culture, values, and operating rhythm. Using EOS principles, companies can design an onboarding process that doesn’t just stop at day one but extends through the first 90 days and beyond. This ensures that new employees are not only welcomed but also continuously engaged and aligned with the company’s vision. Building a culture of accountability and growth with EOS, onboarding becomes a strategic initiative that aligns new hires with the company’s vision & values from the very beginning. By incorporating quarterly conversations, clear role definitions, and continuous support, companies can foster a culture of accountability and growth. This leads to higher retention rates, increased productivity, and ultimately, a more cohesive and motivated team. By integrating EOS principles into the onboarding process, businesses can ensure that their new hires are set up for success from day one, creating a solid foundation for future growth and profitability.

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For a deeper dive into this tool check out these two resources:

Resource #1 - The Quarterly Conversation Tool - Info Video (3min)

Resource #2 - The Quarterly Conversation Tool - Info Article

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HOW DO YOU USE ROCKS?

The Leadership Team comes up with 3-7 priorities at the Company Level of the Organization to focus on for the next 90 days. Then, each individual leader has 3-7 individual 90-day priorities to focus on. Ultimately everyone throughout the entire organization gets a number to focus on - a Rock (3 to 7 Rocks). You review them on a weekly basis in the?Weekly Level 10 Meeting! "On Track" or "Off Track" or “Complete” - it creates weekly accountability! It's all in the context of "for the greater good of the company, what absolutely MUST get done this quarter?" When setting Rocks, it is CRUCIAL to get the "Two Thumbs Up" from every member of the Leadership Team. This means everyone agrees it is the RIGHT Rock for that person to be focused on for the next 90 days for the greater good of the company AND that it is a SMART Rock (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-Bound). This prevents leaders from setting "dumb" Rocks for the Quarter. You all have to sign off on it. If it's not the RIGHT Rocks and/or it's not written SMART, challenge it with a thumbs down. Debate, discuss, and decide as a team. A few questions to consider when setting Rocks:

• In 90 days, what would frustrate you about that Rock? (Example: if this was not complete, I’d be frustrated)
• In 90 days, what would excite you about that Rock? (Example: if you showed me this, I’d be ecstatic!)
• What is the focus of this Rock?
• What about this Rock is important to you? What else? What else? To the company? What else?
• In 90 days, what specific result are you looking for?

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BEST PRACTICES FOR ROCKS

?KEY QUESTIONS:

• What MUST get done over the next 90 days?
• What's most?important?for our company to accomplish in the next Quarter?
• What are the top 3-7?mission-critical priorities?for the next 90 days
• If you were going to get paid a $100,000 check if everyone in the room completed their rocks, how confident would you feel about that person's rock being clear enough, specific enough, and measurable enough to confidently say 100% COMPLETE?
• What does DONE look like?
• How would you measure success?
• What would make you smile ear to ear?
• What would make you frustrated, angry, annoyed, and/or aggravated?
• What will this cost in terms of the budget?
• Who are the key players involved in this?

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KEY PHRASES:

• If everything is important, nothing is important!
• Do less better.
• Less is more.
• KISS - Keep It Super Simple.
• Define what "DONE" looks like for each Rock.
• The key to focus is time away.
• You cannot do it all.
• Use the phrase "and execute to date" when setting big projects into Rocks.
• Is that the RIGHT Rock for the greater good of the company?
• Is that a SMART Rock? (How could you make it SMARTer?)

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KEY INSIGHTS:

• Don’t overthink this exercise: narrow in on what the company’s top 3-7 priorities are for the Quarter and focus on getting those things done!
• It is crucial that the entire Leadership Team is 100% on the same page on what a clear done / clear success / clear complete looks like. If you are unsure, let the Integrator gets final say. Ask, "What does done look like?"
• Use the?Compartmentalization Tool to understand the difference between Rocks and pebbles (daily small stuff)

• If it is a daily task that is super important for the business, consider moving it to the Company Scorecard!
• DON'T Roll Out Rocks until the Leadership Team has mastery over this discipline! (Confidence and Competence)
• If you get stuck on completing a big Rock, use a?Milestone?to help you break it down and better measure/monitor progress! (Example: What needs to happen in 30 days? = Milestone 1. What needs to happen in 60 days? = Milestone 2. What needs to happen in 90 days? = Milestone 3 or your “completed” Rock.) Milestones? Not EOS Pure but could be helpful
• Set your Rocks in light of your 1-Year Plan. What Rocks will help you stay "On Track" to accomplish your 1-Year Plan?
• Rocks are working "ON" the Business! It is strategic planning. It is proactive. Instead of working “IN” the business and reacting.
• Prioritize what you will focus on for 90 days. Then stay disciplined to execute with excellence!
• Have a clear focus so you can tie it back to the 1 year goals.
• Pull in all issues to be contenders.
• Not only are these the top 3-7 priorities, they will rally the troops!
• What "MUST" get done? Help them define "DONE" not "HOW." You can define how and figure out the implementation later in IDS time.
• Multifaced rocks? KISS?

HOW DO ROCKS WORK DURING A LEVEL 10 MEETING?

• Read it out loud during the Weekly Level 10 Meeting and say "On Track" or "Off Track" or "Complete.”
• Only say "On Track" if you have started the Rock!
• Off Track" means you need help!
• "On Track" means you do not need ANY help! You feel 100% confident that you will complete this Rock at the end of the Quarter.
• "Complete” means it is done. You have completely hit the result you set out to hit.
• If ANYONE questions the Rock or is confused by it or not on the same page with you being "On Track" - say "Drop It Down" and talk about it during the IDS (problem-solving time) of the Weekly Level 10 Meeting.

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DO A ROCK REVIEW BEFORE SETTING NEW ROCKS:

• Before you set new rocks, be sure to help them re-read the wisdom from the rock review.
• You are learning how to better predict!
• You are either extracting learning or celebrating wins!
• What will you do to celebrate??? LT, Ind?

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EXAMPLES:

1. Identify, Document, Package, and Present a “First Draft” of the Sales Process to the entire Leadership Team including the FBA (Followed by All) checklist.
2. Read the book “How To Be A Great Boss” and present my top 10 key takeaways to the Leadership Team.
3. Have 200 trust-building conversations.
4. Generate 20 new warm leads and convert 5 of them into paying clients.
5. Complete the People Analyzer on every member of the Operations Team (the Leadership Team evaluates them and they each evaluate themselves) & follow up with a 30min debrief meeting with each person on that Ops Team.
6. Create a “First Draft” of our Proven Process and present it to the Leadership Team.
7. Complete a “Quarterly Conversation” with each of my direct reports and present a summary of each conversation to the Leadership Team.
8. Invest in 12 hours of personal growth time, create a one-page summary what I learned, and present this to the Leadership Team.
9. Rollout the Level 10 Meetings with the entire Marketing and Sales Team! (Successfully complete 12 L10’s!)

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QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS:

1. Should Visionaries have Rocks?

Most should not. It does not mean they are not working but it means that they just don’t need to make it an official “Rock” that they are held accountable for. Keep working and stay focused! But as the Visionary, it is usually really difficult to get and stay focused until completion.

?2. How do you know if a Rock should be "part of their job" or something they need to do? (Example: process documentation)

Empower the LT to decide. It doesn’t matter if it’s part of the job or not. That’s the criteria. Every quarter you reassess and do the exact same thing. Oftentimes someone has a role who has never had it before or they’ve never performed it at that level. This makes for a great Rock once you get it SMART in most cases. It usually doesn’t repeat though. But some clients always have a Sales Rock. That’s just what they like. BAU or Business as Usual items might actually need to be a rock for a quarter or two if the client is learning or trying to create a new process or needs a new habit for the good of the business. In the end this is the client’s issue to solve. The way this becomes an issue for them is when there is an RPRS issue or an accountability issue.

?3. Can you change the Rock during the 90 days? (wording?)

The most important thing you will learn in EOS journey is how get really good at setting solid rocks! To get great at predicting! Don't change it! It is a learning activity! You are learning your bandwidth! You will get better as you do this! After the Rock review - ask "what did we learn? what can we do different?" Generally, they need to make it more specific or they over shot what they could do! Exception: in your early on L10's - you could change it after that. But not after that! Can you add a rock in the middle of the quarter? You are not supposed to, but there are exceptions. Dig deeper always.

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4. What happens to Rocks at the end of the Quarterly?

They are either done or not done. The point of the Rock Review is to check if you are 1) Getting the RIGHT things done, 2) Learning HOW to improve at setting and completing Rocks, and 3) Improving your ability to become better predictors! You can add the rock back but only if it is still the most important thing to focus on for that 90 days!

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Call To Action:

Start setting Rocks with your Leadership Team THIS quarter! Use the Level 10 Meeting to track them! Reach out to me for help if you want a free coaching phone call!

Sources:

The Houston MCE EOS Implementer Group

Traction – by Gino Wickman

Joseph Jaffe – EOS Implementer

The Monthly Facilis EOS Collaboration Virtual Meeting

EOS Worldwide

Ninety.io Blog on Rocks How to Implement EOS? Rocks for Business Success ( ninety.io )

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