Picture this: You’re at your annual planning retreat, energized and optimistic. The leadership team has identified 47 strategic initiatives for the coming year. Everyone leaves committed to making it the company’s best year yet.
Fast-forward six months. Three initiatives are complete, twelve are “in progress” (meaning stalled), and the rest have been quietly forgotten. Sound familiar?
Most companies fail at execution not because they lack good ideas, but because they try to pursue too many priorities at once. In EOS terminology, they focus on sand instead of rocks.
After implementing quarterly planning in our own business and watching clients do the same, we’ve learned that the secret to getting things done isn’t better project management—it’s ruthless prioritization.
The Jar Analogy That Changes Everything
Stephen Covey popularized a simple demonstration that explains why most strategic planning fails. Imagine you have a jar, some large rocks, and a bucket of sand. Your goal is to fit everything in the jar.
If you pour in the sand first, you can only fit a few rocks on top—and even then, the jar looks messy and unorganized. But if you place the rocks first, the sand naturally fills the spaces around them, and everything fits perfectly.
Your business works the same way. If you fill your time with sand—emails, routine meetings, minor tasks, small improvements—there’s no room left for rocks—the major initiatives that actually move your business forward.
EOS quarterly planning forces you to identify your rocks first and protect them from the sand.
Why Annual Planning Doesn’t Work
Most companies do annual planning because it feels comprehensive and strategic. The leadership team spends two days offsite, creates a detailed plan with monthly milestones, and returns to the office feeling accomplished.
Then reality hits. Market conditions change. New opportunities emerge. Team members leave. Technology breaks. The annual plan becomes a historical document that bears little resemblance to what the company actually needs to do.
Annual planning fails because:
It’s too long-term for execution. Twelve months feels abstract. People struggle to maintain urgency for goals that won’t be measured for a year.
It can’t adapt to change. Markets move faster than annual cycles. By the time you realize your plan needs adjustment, you’ve lost months of momentum.
It encourages over-commitment. When you’re planning a full year, it’s easy to assume you’ll have more time and resources than you actually do.
It lacks accountability. Monthly check-ins feel less urgent than weekly ones. Issues get pushed to the next quarter instead of getting solved immediately.
One client came to us with a beautiful 40-page strategic plan that had taken months to create. Six months later, they couldn’t tell us which initiatives were on track because no one had looked at the plan since the retreat. They were working hard, but their daily activities had no connection to their strategic goals.
The Power of 90-Day Sprints
EOS replaces annual planning with quarterly rocks—your company’s 3-7 most important priorities for the next 90 days. Not ongoing responsibilities or routine tasks, but specific projects that will move your business forward.
Why 90 days? It’s the sweet spot between urgency and achievability:
Long enough to accomplish something meaningful. You can complete significant projects, implement new systems, or solve major problems in a quarter.
Short enough to maintain focus. Three months feels immediate. People can visualize the deadline and maintain urgency throughout the period.
Flexible enough to adapt. If market conditions change or new opportunities emerge, you only lose a quarter of momentum, not an entire year.
Frequent enough for accountability. Quarterly reviews create regular moments for honest assessment and course correction.
We’ve seen similar results with clients who commit to the discipline of rocks over sand. For detailed guidance on running quarterly planning sessions and setting effective rocks, Wickman’s book Traction includes step-by-step instructions and real examples from companies that have mastered the process.
What Makes a Good Rock
Not every important task qualifies as a rock. Good rocks share specific characteristics:
Specific and measurable. “Improve customer service” isn’t a rock—it’s a wish. “Implement new help desk software and reduce average response time from 24 hours to 4 hours” is a rock.
Owned by one person. Every rock needs a single owner who’s accountable for its completion. Shared ownership usually means no ownership.
Achievable in 90 days. If it takes longer than a quarter, break it into smaller rocks or rethink the scope.
Important, not just urgent. Rocks should move your business forward, not just solve immediate problems. Fixing the broken printer is urgent but not a rock.
Outside normal responsibilities. Your sales manager’s rock shouldn’t be “hit monthly sales targets”—that’s their job. It should be something like “implement new CRM system to improve lead tracking.”
One of our clients initially proposed fifteen rocks for their first quarter. After applying these criteria, they narrowed it down to five meaningful projects. They completed four of them on time and made significant progress on the fifth. The following quarter, they tried twelve rocks again and completed three. They learned that focus beats ambition every time.
The Quarterly Planning Process
EOS quarterly planning happens during a focused session—usually a full day or intensive half-day—where the leadership team sets rocks for the coming quarter.
Review the previous quarter. What got done? What didn’t? Why? This isn’t about blame—it’s about learning what realistic expectations and identifying obstacles.
Assess current reality. Where does the business stand today? What’s working? What’s broken? What opportunities exist?
Identify issues and opportunities. What problems need solving? What improvements would make the biggest difference? What external factors require response?
Choose your rocks. From all the possibilities, select the 3-7 most important priorities for the next 90 days. This is where the real work happens—saying no to good ideas so you can focus on great ones.
Assign ownership. Every rock gets one owner. Not a committee, not a department—one person who’s accountable for making it happen.
Create 30-day milestones. Break each rock into monthly checkpoints so you can track progress and course-correct quickly.
The hardest part isn’t identifying good rocks—it’s resisting the temptation to add “just one more” important priority. Discipline at this stage determines success over the next 90 days.
Keeping Rocks Visible
Setting rocks is only half the battle. Keeping them visible and accountable is what makes the system work.
Weekly rock reviews. Every Level 10 Meeting includes a five-minute rock review. Each owner reports simply: “on track” or “off track.” Issues get added to the Issues List for problem-solving.
Monthly deep dives. Once a month, spend more time reviewing rock progress. Are the 30-day milestones being hit? Do any rocks need adjustment? Are there resource or priority conflicts?
Quarterly report cards. At the end of each quarter, grade your rock completion. Most companies average 70-80% completion in their first year of EOS. That’s normal and acceptable—much better than the 20-30% completion rate most annual plans achieve.
Company-wide communication. Don’t keep rocks secret at the leadership level. Share them with the entire organization so everyone understands what’s most important for the next 90 days.
The Cascading Effect of Having Focus
When leadership teams commit to quarterly rocks, the focus spreads throughout the organization. Department heads start setting their own rocks that support company priorities. Individual contributors understand how their work connects to bigger goals.
One client’s marketing team used to juggle dozens of campaigns and initiatives simultaneously, making incremental progress on everything but major breakthroughs on nothing. After implementing quarterly rocks, they focused on three major projects per quarter. Their results improved dramatically—not because they worked harder, but because they channeled their energy more effectively.
Common Rock Mistakes
Too many rocks. More isn’t better. Seven rocks are harder to complete than three, and much harder to keep track of.
Vague definitions. “Improve operations” could mean anything. “Reduce order processing time from 48 hours to 24 hours” gives everyone clarity about success.
No real ownership. When everyone is responsible, no one is responsible. Each rock needs one throat to choke.
Conflicting priorities. Sometimes rocks compete for resources or attention. Better to acknowledge this during planning than discover it mid-quarter.
All-or-nothing thinking. An 80% completed rock that delivers significant value is better than waiting for 100% perfection.
Integration with Annual Planning
Quarterly rocks don’t replace annual planning—they make it more effective. Your annual vision provides direction and context. Quarterly rocks provide the specific stepping stones to get there.
Think of your annual plan as the destination and quarterly rocks as the route. You might adjust the route based on road conditions, but you’re still heading toward the same place.
Most companies find that four quarters of focused rock execution gets them closer to their annual goals than one year of scattered effort across dozens of initiatives.
Starting Your First Quarter
If you’ve never used quarterly rocks, start simple. Choose three company rocks that everyone agrees are critical. Make them specific and measurable. Assign clear ownership. Review progress weekly.
Don’t worry about perfect rock-setting technique. You’ll get better at choosing the right priorities as you complete a few quarters. The key is building the discipline of focused execution.
After a few quarters, you’ll start seeing patterns. Some types of rocks consistently get completed. Others consistently stall. Some owners thrive under rock accountability. Others struggle. These insights help you set better rocks and assign them more effectively.
The Quarterly Rhythm
Companies that master quarterly planning develop a rhythm that creates momentum. The last month of each quarter feels focused and urgent as people push to complete their rocks. The first month of the new quarter feels energizing as people tackle fresh priorities. The middle month provides steady progress toward clear goals.
This rhythm replaces the typical business pattern of scattered effort, crisis management, and unclear priorities with disciplined focus on what matters most.
Is your business hitting the same growth ceiling despite everyone working harder? We’ve helped companies use EOS to break through barriers—let’s explore whether it makes sense for you.
Read All EOS Posts:
- What Is EOS? A Simple Guide to the Entrepreneurial Operating System
- The EOS Toolbox: Six Components That Work Together
- EOS Level 10 Meetings: Why Most Business Meetings Fail (And How to Fix Them)
- Rocks vs. Sand: How EOS Quarterly Planning Creates Focus
- The People Component: Getting the Right People in the Right Seats
- EOS Implementation: Getting Started on the Right Foot
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