A Rock that can’t fail isn’t a Rock. It’s a to-do you gave a promotion.
A Rock with over 10 milestones isn’t a Rock. It’s a project with an identity crisis.
A Rock that is tied to an individual’s compensation is not a Rock. It’s a bribe.
If any of these statements resonate with you, then you are not alone. Rocks, or quarterly objectives, can be tricky little things that shapeshift into distractions without proper due diligence. As our heads swim with all of the conclusions from last quarter while trying to set the stage for the quarter to come, it’s easy to misdefine a Rock.
The Common Belief
A 95%-complete Rock rate can mean the system is working or that the Rocks were never real Rocks to begin with. Yes, we’re setting Rocks. Yes, we’re tracking them on our scorecard. Yes, the business is moving forward towards our annual goals… but is it really?
Rocks that have been misdefined will fail quietly, week over week, until someone recognizes the design flaw. By then, it’s often too late to course-correct and the team is forced to concede another “Off-Track” reportout during next quarter’s planning session. Wash. Rinse. Repeat. And we wonder why we are going through the motions without ever gaining any real traction on our V/TO.
The Failure Patterns
In my experience, there are four main reasons why Rocks fail. If you look at your team’s Rocks over the last few quarters, I’m certain some of these failure modes will resonate:
Pattern 1 — Too Many Rocks
Why it happens: ambition, or fear of looking unproductive with only 1-2 Rocks.
Before: 7 Rocks assigned to one seat this quarter.
After: 1-2 Rocks, everything else pushed to the to-do list or next quarter's list.
The lesson: Slow down to speed up. Quality over quantity.
Pattern 2 — Non-Rocking
Why it happens: leadership defaults to "what's my job" instead of "what needs to change this quarter."
Before: "Manage the sales team" as a Rock.
After: "Get 3 reps to 100% of quota by [date]" — something with a measurable finish line, not a job description in a nicer font.
The lesson: Your job description isn't a Rock. A finish line is.
Pattern 3 — Rocks Tied to Comp
Why it happens: leadership wants a forcing function, ties bonus/comp to Rock completion.
Before: Rock marked "on track" in the L10 because saying otherwise costs the team member money.
After: Rocks stay outside comp; comp ties to scorecard/company measurables instead, so status reporting stays honest.
The lesson: Tie a Rock to a paycheck, and the incentive to protect income will often beat the incentive to tell the truth. Comp should be tied to objective, evidenceable measurables; not to subjective, self-reported status. Rocks fail this test almost by design, because "on track" is a judgment call made in the room. Even scorecard metrics only stay safe to the extent they're hard to game. The moment a metric becomes soft, subjective, or self-reported, it inherits the same problem.
Pattern 4 — Rocks That Belong to Someone Else
Why it happens: a Rock gets assigned to one owner but actually requires buy-in/output from two or three other seats who never agreed to it.
Before: Marketing owns "Launch new CRM" but Sales and Ops control the data and workflow it depends on.
After: Either the Rock is co-owned explicitly, or it's broken into pieces each seat actually controls.
The lesson: Don’t allow Rocks to be defined in silos. Cross-check Rocks with department leaders to ensure alignment and avoid competing priorities.
The Pressure Test
Can you name today the definition of success that proves this Rock is done? If not, then your Rock is not yet a Rock. A Rock with no finish line isn’t a priority. It’s wishful thinking. And hedging on wishful thinking isn’t enough to move a business towards its V/TO.
