Right then. Let’s clear up a common bit of confusion I keep seeing:
The due date for your Rocks is not the end of your financial quarter.
Nope. Wrong. Stop it.
That’s just when your accountants get excited and measure the numbers. The real due date for Rocks is the date of your quarterly meeting. That’s when you all get in a room, figure out what’s been achieved, and set yourselves up for the next 90 days.
Now, why’s that the case? Let’s apply some logic (and maybe a pint or two of common sense).
At your quarterly, you need to know—with a high degree of certainty—whether you hit your targets for revenue, profit, and measurables. And you also need to be in the right headspace to set the new ones. For most teams, that means you can’t hold the meeting bang on the last day of the financial quarter. Why? Because the numbers aren’t final yet. You’ve still got invoices trickling in, expenses being reconciled, and Steve from accounts trying to find that missing receipt from the pub (don’t ask).
So instead, most teams hold their quarterly a couple of weeks into the new quarter. That gives time for the numbers to settle and means you can walk into that meeting with clear, reliable data—and no “we think” or “it’s about” nonsense.
Here’s the kicker: if you make Rock deadlines the end of the financial quarter, you’ve just robbed yourself of two weeks of Rock time. You’re basically working with an 11-week quarter. And then you’ve got a two-week gap with no Rocks to focus on. That’s two weeks of… what? Polishing your stapler? Doesn’t make sense, does it?
And if your business has highly predictable revenue, you might even hold your quarterly before the financial quarter ends. Which means if you set Rock completion to “end of quarter,” you’d be holding a meeting to report on Rocks that technically aren’t due yet. That’s like throwing yourself a birthday party and saying, “Presents in two weeks, please.”
So, here’s the simple rule:
Rocks are due on the day of your quarterly meeting.
Not before. Not after. On the day.
That way, when you walk into the room, you can say with confidence: “Here’s what we set out to do. Here’s what we’ve done. Here’s what’s next.”
And then you can raise a glass to 13 full weeks of focus—without wasting two of them.
Simon Adcock is a Professional EOS Implementer® working with leadership teams across Shropshire, Staffordshire, the West Midlands, Worcestershire and Warwickshire.