Rock Templates by Department

Setting effective Rocks requires understanding what great Rocks look like for each department. Use these templates as inspiration for your own quarterly priorities.

Sales Rocks

Revenue Growth Rock

Template: "Increase [metric] from [current] to [target] by [date]"

Examples:

Increase monthly recurring revenue from $500K to $650K by March 31st
Close 25 new enterprise deals (>$50K ACV) by end of Q1
Achieve $2M in new ARR by December 31st

Key Elements:

Specific revenue target
Clear baseline and goal
Defined timeline
Measurable outcome

Pipeline Development Rock

Template: "Build qualified pipeline of [amount/deals] by [date]"

Examples:

Generate $5M in qualified pipeline for Q2 by March 31st
Schedule 100 qualified demos with target accounts by end of quarter
Build pipeline of 50 enterprise opportunities (each >$100K) by June 30th

Win Rate Improvement Rock

Template: "Improve [stage] conversion rate from [X%] to [Y%] by [date]"

Examples:

Increase demo-to-close rate from 18% to 25% by Q1 end
Improve proposal win rate from 35% to 45% by implementing new sales methodology
Reduce sales cycle from 90 to 60 days by streamlining approval process

Sales Team Development Rock

Template: "Build/develop sales capacity to achieve [outcome] by [date]"

Examples:

Hire and ramp 3 new Account Executives to full quota by March 31st
Train entire sales team on new product features and achieve 90% certification
Implement new sales playbook with 100% team adoption by end of Q1

Market Expansion Rock

Template: "Launch [market/segment] and achieve [metric] by [date]"

Examples:

Launch mid-market sales motion and close 10 deals by March 31st
Expand into healthcare vertical and secure 5 logo wins by Q1 end
Open new region (EMEA) and generate $500K in pipeline by end of quarter

Engineering/Product Rocks

Feature Launch Rock

Template: "Launch [feature] with [adoption metric] by [date]"

Examples:

Launch mobile app and achieve 10,000 downloads by March 31st
Ship API v2 with 25% of customers migrated by end of Q1
Release new reporting dashboard with 60% user adoption within 30 days

Technical Debt Rock

Template: "Reduce [technical issue] by [amount/percentage] by [date]"

Examples:

Reduce production incidents from 15/month to <5/month by March 31st
Eliminate all P0/P1 technical debt items (12 total) by end of Q1
Improve system uptime from 99.5% to 99.9% by implementing redundancy

Performance Improvement Rock

Template: "Improve [performance metric] from [current] to [target] by [date]"

Examples:

Reduce page load time from 3.2s to <1.5s for 95th percentile by March 31st
Increase API response time by 50% through caching optimization
Scale infrastructure to support 100K concurrent users without degradation

Development Velocity Rock

Template: "Improve [development metric] to [target] by [date]"

Examples:

Reduce average deployment time from 4 hours to <30 minutes by automating CI/CD
Increase sprint velocity from 45 to 60 story points by improving processes
Achieve 80% test coverage across codebase by end of Q1

Platform Modernization Rock

Template: "Migrate/upgrade [system] to achieve [outcome] by [date]"

Examples:

Migrate 100% of services from legacy infrastructure to Kubernetes by March 31st
Upgrade to React 19 and eliminate all deprecated dependencies
Refactor monolith into 5 microservices starting with auth and payments

Marketing Rocks

Lead Generation Rock

Template: "Generate [number] qualified leads through [channel] by [date]"

Examples:

Generate 500 MQLs through content marketing by March 31st
Launch demand gen campaign and book 75 demos by end of Q1
Achieve 10,000 website visitors/month with 5% conversion to trial

Brand Awareness Rock

Template: "Increase [awareness metric] by [amount] through [initiative] by [date]"

Examples:

Grow LinkedIn following from 5K to 15K with 2% engagement rate by March 31st
Achieve 50,000 blog visitors/month through SEO optimization
Launch brand campaign and reach 1M impressions with 0.5% CTR

Content Creation Rock

Template: "Create [number/type] of content achieving [metric] by [date]"

Examples:

Publish 20 high-quality blog posts ranking in top 10 for target keywords by Q1 end
Launch podcast with 12 episodes and 5,000 downloads by March 31st
Create video content library (15 videos) with 50K total views

Campaign Launch Rock

Template: "Launch [campaign type] achieving [metric] by [date]"

Examples:

Launch ABM campaign targeting 50 enterprise accounts, engage 70% by March 31st
Execute product launch campaign generating 200 product qualified leads
Run webinar series (4 events) with 500 total attendees and 30% conversion to demo

Marketing Operations Rock

Template: "Implement [system/process] to achieve [outcome] by [date]"

Examples:

Implement marketing automation with 5 nurture sequences live by March 31st
Build attribution model tracking all channels with <5% unattributed leads
Launch new website with 40% improvement in conversion rate

Finance Rocks

Cash Flow Improvement Rock

Template: "Improve [cash metric] from [current] to [target] by [date]"

Examples:

Increase cash reserves from $500K to $1M through collections improvement by March 31st
Reduce Days Sales Outstanding (DSO) from 45 to 30 days
Improve operating cash flow by $200K/month through expense optimization

Profitability Rock

Template: "Achieve [profitability metric] of [target] by [date]"

Examples:

Reach EBITDA breakeven by March 31st
Improve gross margin from 65% to 72% through cost optimization
Achieve 20% operating margin by end of fiscal year

Financial Systems Rock

Template: "Implement [system] achieving [outcome] by [date]"

Examples:

Implement new ERP system with all modules live by March 31st
Automate monthly close process, reducing time from 10 to 3 days
Build financial dashboard with real-time metrics for leadership team

Fundraising Rock

Template: "Raise [amount] at [valuation] by [date]"

Examples:

Close Series B round of $20M at $100M valuation by March 31st
Secure $5M credit facility with favorable terms by end of Q1
Complete financial audit and achieve SOC 2 compliance by June 30th

Cost Optimization Rock

Template: "Reduce [cost category] by [percentage/amount] by [date]"

Examples:

Reduce SaaS spend by 25% ($50K/month) through vendor consolidation by March 31st
Cut CAC from $12K to $8K through improved marketing efficiency
Reduce infrastructure costs by 30% through cloud optimization

Operations Rocks

Process Improvement Rock

Template: "Improve [process] efficiency by [percentage] by [date]"

Examples:

Reduce customer onboarding time from 30 to 10 days by March 31st
Improve order fulfillment time by 40% through warehouse automation
Increase production throughput by 25% while maintaining quality standards

Quality Improvement Rock

Template: "Improve [quality metric] from [current] to [target] by [date]"

Examples:

Reduce defect rate from 3.5% to <1% by implementing quality controls by March 31st
Achieve 95% on-time delivery rate (currently 78%) through process optimization
Improve first-call resolution from 65% to 85% by end of Q1

Capacity Expansion Rock

Template: "Expand [capacity] to support [outcome] by [date]"

Examples:

Expand production capacity to 10K units/month (currently 6K) by March 31st
Open new distribution center supporting 5 western states by end of Q1
Scale support team to handle 2,000 tickets/week with <12hr response time

Systems Implementation Rock

Template: "Implement [system] achieving [outcome] by [date]"

Examples:

Implement inventory management system reducing stockouts by 80% by March 31st
Launch project management platform with 100% team adoption
Automate reporting process saving 20 hours/week by end of Q1

Vendor Management Rock

Template: "Optimize [vendor/supplier] relationship achieving [outcome] by [date]"

Examples:

Consolidate suppliers from 15 to 8 vendors, reducing costs 20% by March 31st
Renegotiate top 5 vendor contracts saving $100K annually
Implement vendor scorecard system for all critical suppliers

Customer Success Rocks

Retention Rock

Template: "Reduce churn from [X%] to [Y%] by [date]"

Examples:

Reduce monthly churn from 5% to 3% by implementing early warning system by March 31st
Achieve 95% annual retention rate (currently 88%) through proactive outreach
Reduce at-risk customers from 25 to 10 by end of Q1

Expansion Rock

Template: "Drive [expansion metric] to [target] by [date]"

Examples:

Achieve 120% net revenue retention through upsells and cross-sells by March 31st
Expand 30 customers to enterprise plans generating $500K in expansion ARR
Increase average contract value by 25% through feature adoption

Customer Health Rock

Template: "Improve [health metric] from [current] to [target] by [date]"

Examples:

Increase NPS from 42 to 60 by March 31st through improved support experience
Improve product adoption: 80% of customers using 3+ key features by end of Q1
Achieve 90% customer health score across portfolio (currently 72%)

Onboarding Rock

Template: "Improve onboarding achieving [metric] by [date]"

Examples:

Reduce time-to-value from 45 to 20 days by streamlining onboarding by March 31st
Achieve 95% onboarding completion rate (currently 78%) through automation
Launch self-service onboarding reducing CS touch time by 50%

Advocacy Rock

Template: "Build [advocacy program] achieving [metric] by [date]"

Examples:

Launch customer advisory board with 15 members providing quarterly feedback by March 31st
Generate 25 case studies and 50 reviews (4.5+ stars) by end of Q1
Build referral program generating 20% of new sales pipeline

How to Use These Templates

1. Start with Your 1-Year Plan

Look at your company and department goals for the year. Which quarterly Rock will move you closest to those goals?

2. Make It SMART

Specific: Exactly what will be accomplished?
Measurable: How will you know it's done?
Achievable: Is it realistically possible in 90 days?
Relevant: Does it align with company vision?
Time-bound: Clear deadline (usually end of quarter)

3. Assign Clear Ownership

Every Rock needs one owner accountable for its completion. Multiple people can help, but one person is ultimately responsible.

4. Limit to 3-7 Rocks

Don't overcommit. It's better to complete 5 Rocks than to partially finish 12. Focus wins.

5. Review Weekly

Discuss Rock progress in every Level 10 Meeting. Update status, address obstacles, and keep momentum.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

❌ Too Vague: "Improve sales" - Not specific enough ✅ Specific: "Increase MRR from $500K to $650K by March 31st"

❌ Not Measurable: "Make customers happier" ✅ Measurable: "Increase NPS from 42 to 60 by end of Q1"

❌ Too Many: Setting 12 Rocks per quarter ✅ Focused: 3-7 most important priorities

❌ No Owner: "Team will work on this together" ✅ Accountable: "Sarah owns this Rock"

❌ Wrong Timeframe: "Complete 2-year platform migration" ✅ 90-Day Scope: "Complete Phase 1: Auth & Payments migration"

Rock Quality Checklist

Before finalizing your Rocks, check each one:

Does it have a clear, measurable outcome?
Can it realistically be completed in 90 days?
Does it move us toward our 1-Year Plan?
Does it have one owner assigned?
Will completing it make a meaningful impact?
Is the success criteria crystal clear?
Can we track progress weekly?

Get Started

Ready to set powerful departmental Rocks?

Remember: Great Rocks are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound. Use these templates as inspiration, then customize them for your unique business needs.