One of the biggest challenges founders face is deciding what to focus on each quarter. You have dozens of projects, hundreds of tasks and constant fires competing for your attention. Without clarity, it is easy to drift, react and lose momentum.

Quarterly Rocks solve this problem by helping you identify the three to seven priorities that matter most in the next 90 days. But even with this framework, many teams still struggle to pick the right Rocks.

This article gives you clear, practical examples of strong Rocks by department, business stage and company size so you can create a focused quarterly plan that drives real results.

What Makes a Good Rock

A great Rock has five qualities:

• It can be completed in 90 days
• It moves the business forward in a meaningful way
• It has one clear owner
• It has a measurable finish line
• It connects to your annual or long term goals

Good Rocks are strategic, impactful and clear.
Weak Rocks are vague, tactical or too small.

Examples:
Bad Rock: “Work on marketing”
Good Rock: “Launch new website with updated messaging by June 30”

The difference is clarity and impact.

Leadership Rocks

Leadership Rocks strengthen the operating system of the company.

• Finalize updated vision and values
• Document your core processes
• Build the 3 year picture and annual plan
• Launch the accountability chart
• Improve weekly team meeting format
• Implement a unified Business Operating System
• Create the hiring plan for the next two quarters
• Build the company scorecard with 10 measurables

Leadership Rocks often create clarity, structure and long term direction.

Sales Rocks

Sales Rocks drive pipeline health, revenue stability and predictable growth.

• Increase qualified pipeline to 300k
• Create outbound prospecting workflow
• Build sales enablement playbook
• Implement CRM or migrate to a new one
• Improve conversion rate from demo to close from 18 percent to 25 percent
• Hire and onboard an SDR
• Launch referral program and secure 10 partner intros
• Shorten sales cycle by 20 percent

These Rocks should either improve process or expand revenue-generating activity.

Marketing Rocks

Marketing Rocks build awareness, demand and brand strength.

• Launch new website
• Publish 12 high value content pieces
• Build automated nurture sequence
• Increase website conversion rate from 1.2 percent to 2 percent
• Launch LinkedIn content strategy
• Create the brand guidelines and message map
• Build lead magnet and collect 200 downloads
• Produce onboarding email series

Marketing work is ongoing, but Rocks help anchor the strategic pieces.

Product and Engineering Rocks

Product Rocks improve the product experience, quality, speed and customer value.

• Ship Version 2 of onboarding flow
• Reduce bug backlog by 40 percent
• Launch mobile app beta
• Improve feature adoption rate from 45 percent to 60 percent
• Implement automated testing
• Release new dashboard analytics
• Improve response time from 480ms to 280ms
• Migrate backend to new infrastructure

Each Rock should improve speed, reliability or customer value.

Customer Success Rocks

Customer Success Rocks strengthen retention, satisfaction and customer outcomes.

• Improve NPS from 32 to 50
• Create customer onboarding playbook
• Reduce churn from 4 percent to 2 percent
• Launch customer training library
• Implement customer feedback workflow
• Increase weekly active usage from 62 percent to 80 percent
• Build renewal and expansion process
• Reduce support ticket resolution time by 30 percent

These Rocks are focused on experience and long term value.

Operations Rocks

Operations Rocks improve efficiency, systems and processes.

• Document all core SOPs
• Implement new payroll or HR system
• Reduce task cycle time by 20 percent
• Build internal training program
• Launch centralized Knowledge Base
• Create procurement workflow
• Improve billing or invoicing process

Operations Rocks strengthen the foundation of the business.

Finance Rocks

Financial Rocks support sustainability and smart decision making.

• Create financial forecasting model
• Reduce monthly burn by 15 percent
• Build pricing strategy and update packages
• Improve cash collection from 72 percent to 90 percent
• Establish profit margin targets
• Complete tax planning and financial cleanup

Finance Rocks guide stability and long term planning.

HR and People Rocks

People Rocks improve culture, clarity and team health.

• Build performance review framework
• Launch onboarding program for new hires
• Update employee handbook
• Create engagement feedback system
• Improve hiring process and interview scorecards
• Increase team engagement score by 10 percent

Great people Rocks create alignment and reduce friction.

Examples of Rocks by Stage

Early Stage Startup (0 to 10 employees)

• Validate ICP and messaging
• Ship MVP features
• Build first sales playbook
• Launch website
• Create weekly operating rhythm

Growth Stage Startup (10 to 50 employees)

• Strengthen hiring process
• Implement a BOS
• Build customer onboarding system
• Launch quarterly OKR or Rocks cadence
• Improve product reliability and scale

Small Business (10 to 100 employees)

• Document full operating procedures
• Create leadership scorecard
• Reduce churn
• Improve profitability
• Expand marketing channels

How to Know if a Rock Is Worth Choosing

Ask these questions:

• Does it solve a meaningful problem
• Will it materially move the business forward
• Is it achievable in 90 days
• Does it have one owner
• Is the finish line clear and measurable
• Does it align with our long term plan

If the answer is not a clear yes, it should not be a Rock.

How Wave Helps You Execute Your Rocks

Wave was built around strong quarterly execution.
Instead of scattered Google Docs or forgotten spreadsheets, Wave connects:

• Rock ownership
• Progress tracking
• Weekly updates
• Scorecards
• Tasks
• Meetings
• Issues
• Accountability

Your Rocks become a living part of the operating system, not a list you revisit once a quarter.

Wave turns quarterly priorities into weekly progress and predictable outcomes.

Final Thought

Quarterly Rocks help teams simplify, focus and execute. When chosen well and reviewed weekly, Rocks create clarity, alignment and momentum. These examples give you a strong foundation to choose the right priorities so the next 90 days become your most productive yet.

‍