Chapter 5 – What Is Important Right Now? page 79.
- The term “Rock” comes from a simple science experiment made popular by Stephen R. Covey in his book First Things First.
- Link – Stephen Covey’s Rocks Video
The 90-Day World
- Why set rocks every 90 days?
- The human mind tends to lose focus and become distracted after about 90 days into any project.
- Rock-setting gets everyone refocused right on the 90th day as the unraveling begins.
- How does it work in practice?
- Every 90 days you will get together with your team and review the previous Rocks you set to assure they were accomplished.
- You will then set new Rocks for the next 90 days.
- In your 90-Day World, you and your team will be focused on the most important priorities (Rocks) necessary to move the company forward.
- Everything else – the things you don’t have the capacity to do or are not that important or urgent – get pushed to the next 90-day period.
Your Rocks
- Each employee should have 1-3 Rocks every 90 days.
- Your Rocks should be aligned with your company’s or manager’s Rocks.
- Rocks are not above and beyond your day-to-day responsibilities.
- Rocks are a crucial part of your job.
- Often Rocks will be tied directly to your personal development.
SMART
- Another thing about Rocks is that they need to be SMART. To be SMART, the Rock needs to be able to answer a series of SMART questions:
- Specific – What specifically is your Rock going to deliver? What’s in-scope and out-of-scope?
- Measurable – How will you measure the completion of your Rock? What does “Done” look like?
- Attainable – What support will you need to complete your Rock? What are your obstacles?
- Relevant – How is your Rock relevant to the Company and/or Department V/TO?
- Timely – Why is it critical that you complete this Rock in the next 90 days? Why now?
- The problem with non-SMART Rocks is that they are open to interpretation and/or don’t have a specific outcome.
- Non-SMART Rocks lead to murky and frustrating conversations when your Rock review is held at the end of 90 days, which leads to diminished accountability.
Reviewing Rocks Weekly
- While Rocks are set every 90 days, you will check in with the team during your weekly meeting.
- You’ll report the status of your Rocks by publicly stating to your team if they are “on track” or “off track.”
Rocks vs. Measurables
- If you have a measurable that is consistently not being met, it can be a Rock.
Rock Completion
- The minimum standard for a team’s Rock completion is 80%.
Questions to Ask Your Manager
- When will we start setting Rocks?
- Do you believe my Rocks are the right ones for me?
- What are your Rocks, and how can I help you with them?
