Rocks & Issues Management Guide

Part 1: Rocks - Your 90-Day Priorities

What are Rocks?

Rocks are your 3-7 most important priorities for the next 90 days. They're called "Rocks" based on the analogy of filling a jar—if you don't put the big rocks in first, you'll fill your time with sand (day-to-day tasks) and never accomplish what's truly important.

Why Rocks Work

The Problem with Annual Goals:

Too far away to create urgency
Easy to procrastinate
Circumstances change
Lack of focus

The Power of 90-Day Rocks:

Creates urgency and focus
Short enough to maintain energy
Long enough to accomplish something meaningful
Builds momentum through completion

Setting Rocks in MeetingTango

The Rock-Setting Process

Step 1: Review Your V/TO™

Look at your 1-Year Plan
Identify what must happen this quarter
Consider your 3-Year Picture
Review previous quarter's Rocks

Step 2: Brainstorm Potential Rocks

In MeetingTango:

Navigate to Rocks → Quarterly Planning
Use Rock Brainstorm tool
Consider all areas: Revenue, Operations, People, Systems

Brainstorming Prompts:

What must we accomplish this quarter?
What's blocking our growth?
What would make next quarter easier?
What are our biggest opportunities?
What are our biggest threats?

Step 3: Prioritize to 3-7 Rocks

The "Less is More" Principle:

3-7 Rocks maximum (company level)
3-7 Rocks per person maximum
Better to complete 3 than fail at 10

Prioritization Criteria:

Impact on annual goals
Urgency and importance
Resource availability
Dependencies

Step 4: Make Rocks SMART

Specific - Clear and unambiguous Measurable - Quantifiable completion criteria Attainable - Challenging but achievable Relevant - Aligns with company goals Time-bound - Due by quarter end

Rock Examples

Good Rocks vs Bad Rocks

❌ Bad: "Improve sales" ✅ Good: "Increase monthly recurring revenue from $50K to $75K by March 31"

❌ Bad: "Hire people" ✅ Good: "Hire and onboard 2 senior developers who pass technical assessment by March 31"

❌ Bad: "Fix customer service" ✅ Good: "Achieve 90% customer satisfaction score and <2 hour response time by March 31"

Types of Rocks

Company Rocks

Owned by leadership team members, impact entire organization

Launch new product line
Enter new market
Implement new system
Complete acquisition

Individual Rocks

Owned by individuals, support company Rocks

Complete sales training program
Document 10 core processes
Reduce customer churn by 20%
Hire 3 team members

Department Rocks

Specific to departments, align with company Rocks

Sales: Generate 100 qualified leads
Operations: Reduce defect rate to <1%
Finance: Implement new reporting system
HR: Complete culture initiative

Managing Rocks in MeetingTango

Rock Tracking Features

Rock Dashboard

Progress Bars - Visual completion tracking
Status Indicators - On-track/Off-track
Milestone Tracking - Break into smaller steps
Due Date Countdown - Days remaining
Owner Accountability - Clear responsibility

Weekly Rock Review

During Level 10 Meetings™:

Each owner reports: On-track or Off-track
Update percentage complete
Drop off-track Rocks to Issues List
No problem-solving during review

Rock Milestones

Break Rocks into weekly milestones:

Week 1-2: Planning and setup
Week 3-6: Execution
Week 7-10: Major push
Week 11-12: Completion and polish
Week 13: Celebration and review

Common Rock Mistakes

❌ Too Many Rocks - Dilutes focus ❌ Vague Completion Criteria - Can't tell when done ❌ No Clear Owner - Gets dropped ❌ Wrong People Own Rocks - Lack authority/capability ❌ Treating Rocks as "Nice to Have" - No urgency ❌ Not Reviewing Weekly - Lose accountability

Rock Completion Strategies

The 80% Rule

Aim for 80% Rock completion rate:

100% means Rocks too easy
<70% means too ambitious
80% is the sweet spot

Breaking Down Rocks

Use MeetingTango's Milestone feature:

Identify major components
Set weekly targets
Track progress visually
Celebrate milestones

Accountability Partners

Pair Rock owners
Weekly check-ins
Mutual support
Shared problem-solving

Part 2: Issues Management

What is an Issue?

An Issue is anything that needs to be solved—obstacles, problems, opportunities, or ideas. In EOS®, we capture all issues and solve them using the IDS™ process.

Issues can be:

Problems to solve
Opportunities to capture
Ideas to evaluate
Obstacles to remove
Decisions to make

The Issues List

Three Types of Issues Lists

V/TO™ Issues List - Long-term strategic issues
Leadership Team Issues List - Weekly L10 issues
Department Issues Lists - Department-specific

Building Your Issues List

Issues come from:

Red/yellow Scorecard metrics
Off-track Rocks
Customer complaints
Employee concerns
Market changes
Process breakdowns
New opportunities

In MeetingTango:

One-click add from Scorecard
Quick add during meetings
Email issues directly
Mobile app entry
Slack/Teams integration

The IDS™ Process

IDS = Identify, Discuss, Solve

The IDS process is how you solve issues once and for all, not just talk about them.

1. IDENTIFY (Clarify the Real Issue)

Goal: Get crystal clear on what we're solving

Common Mistakes:

Solving symptoms, not root causes
Combining multiple issues
Vague problem statements

Identification Techniques:

The "5 Whys"

Why is this happening? [Answer]
Why is that? [Answer]
Why is that? [Answer]
Continue until root cause

Issue Statement Format

"The real issue is [specific problem] which causes [impact] and affects [who/what]"

MeetingTango Tools:

Issue templates
Root cause analyzer
Impact assessment
Stakeholder identifier

2. DISCUSS (Get Everything on the Table)

Goal: Understand all perspectives before solving

Discussion Guidelines:

One person talks at a time
No tangents or "that reminds me"
Be open and honest
Fight for the greater good
Ask more than tell

Key Discussion Questions:

Who does this affect?
How long has this been happening?
What have we tried before?
What are the constraints?
What would ideal look like?

When to Stop Discussing:

Everyone has shared perspective
Starting to repeat points
Moving toward solutions naturally
Energy shifting to problem-solving

MeetingTango Features:

Discussion timer
Speaker queue
Key points capture
Parking lot for tangents

3. SOLVE (Decide and Commit)

Goal: Make a decision and create action

Every Solved Issue Must Have:

A Clear Decision - What we're doing
An Owner - One person accountable
A Due Date - When it will be complete
Success Criteria - How we'll know it's solved

Solution Types:

Quick Decisions

Yes/No decisions
Policy changes
Resource allocation
Priority calls

Action Plans

Multi-step solutions
Project initiation
Process changes
System implementations

To-Do Items

Single actions
Research tasks
Communications
Follow-ups

MeetingTango Solution Tools:

Decision templates
To-do auto-creation
Owner assignment
Due date tracking
Success criteria definition

Issues List Management

Prioritizing Issues

Priority Matrix

High Impact + Urgent = Solve immediately High Impact + Not Urgent = Schedule soon Low Impact + Urgent = Quick decision or delegate Low Impact + Not Urgent = Parking lot

The Top 3 Rule

In Level 10 Meetings™:

List all issues
Identify top 3 for today
Start with #1
Solve completely before moving

Issue Categories in MeetingTango

Organize issues by type:

People Issues - Performance, hiring, culture
Process Issues - Inefficiencies, breakdowns
Strategic Issues - Opportunities, threats
Customer Issues - Complaints, requests
Financial Issues - Cash, profitability
System Issues - Technology, tools

Tracking Issue Resolution

MeetingTango Metrics:

Issues solved per meeting
Average resolution time
Recurrence rate
Owner accountability
Category analysis

Advanced IDS™ Techniques

The Parking Lot

For issues that arise during IDS:

Capture quickly
Don't discuss now
Add to Issues List
Prioritize next meeting

The Tangent Alert

When discussion goes off-track:

Anyone can call "Tangent!"
Capture the tangent as new issue
Return to current issue
Maintain focus

The Decision Stack

For complex issues with multiple decisions:

Break into component decisions
Solve in logical order
Document each decision
Build complete solution

Rocks & Issues Integration

How Rocks Create Issues

Resource conflicts
Skill gaps
Dependencies
Obstacles

How Issues Affect Rocks

Blocked progress
Changed priorities
Resource reallocation
Timeline impacts

The Quarterly Cycle

Week 1-2: Set Rocks, identify potential issues Week 3-11: Execute Rocks, solve issues weekly Week 12-13: Complete Rocks, document lessons

Common IDS™ Mistakes

❌ Discussion Without Decision - Just talking ❌ Solving Symptoms - Issue keeps returning ❌ Group Ownership - Nobody accountable ❌ No Due Date - Never gets done ❌ Skipping Identify - Solving wrong problem ❌ Over-Discussing - Analysis paralysis

Success Metrics

For Rocks:

✅ 80% completion rate quarterly
✅ All Rocks have clear owners
✅ Weekly review in L10
✅ Milestones tracked
✅ Team knows all Rocks

For Issues:

✅ Issues solved same meeting
✅ <5% recurrence rate
✅ Clear to-dos created
✅ 90% to-do completion
✅ Shorter IDS time over time

MeetingTango Power Features

Rock Management

Cascade Rocks - Company → Department → Individual
Rock Templates - Common Rocks library
Progress Analytics - Completion patterns
Rock History - Past quarters archive
Celebration Board - Completed Rocks recognition

Issues Management

Smart Prioritization - AI-suggested priorities
Issue Templates - Common issue formats
Resolution Archive - How we solved before
Pattern Detection - Recurring issue alerts
Cross-team Issues - Collaborative solving

Quick Reference

Setting Rocks Checklist

IDS™ Process Checklist

Implementation Guide

Week 1: Setup

Create first Issues List
Set initial Rocks
Train team on IDS™
Configure MeetingTango

Month 1: Building Rhythm

Weekly Rock reviews
IDS in every L10
Track completion rates
Refine process

Quarter 1: Establishing Excellence

80% Rock completion
Efficient IDS process
Strong accountability
Clear improvements

Get Started

Ready to drive real progress?

Remember: Rocks create focus, IDS™ creates solutions. Together, they create unstoppable momentum.