From Rocks to Results: Why Quarterly Goals Need Outcome Architecture

Your team hit every Rock last quarter. The website redesign shipped. The new hire onboarded. The process documentation got completed. Check, check, check.

Revenue stayed flat. Customer churn increased. The metrics that actually matter to the business didn't move.

Here's what happened: You completed activities but didn't achieve outcomes. Your Rocks told you what to do - they didn't tell you what to accomplish.

The Rocks Paradox

EOS Rocks are brilliant in concept: identify the 3-7 most important things for the next 90 days. Focus the team. Create accountability. The simplicity is powerful - it forces prioritization in a world of endless distractions.

A typical Rock looks like this:

Rock: Complete website redesign Owner: Marketing Director Due: End of Q2 Status: Complete ✓

This is useful. It creates focus. It drives completion.

But notice what's missing: There's no connection to business outcomes. No metric that tells you if the website redesign actually worked. No link to revenue, conversion, or customer acquisition.

The Activity-Outcome Gap

When Rocks are defined as activities rather than outcomes, teams optimize for completion rather than results. They finish things. They check boxes. They hit their Rocks.

And sometimes, the business doesn't improve at all.

Consider these two approaches to the same priority:

Rock (Activity-Based):

• "Complete website redesign"
• Success = website launches
• Team celebrates launch day
• Three months later: "Did it work?" → "We're not sure"

Goal Canvas (Outcome-Based):

• "Increase website conversion rate from 2.1% to 3.5%"
• Success = measurable business improvement
• Website redesign is one tactic that might achieve this
• Three months later: "Did it work?" → "Conversion is at 3.2% - good progress, not there yet"

The difference is profound. The activity-based Rock celebrates completion. The outcome-based Goal Canvas celebrates results.

The Math of Misaligned Rocks

Scenario: A 50-person company sets 25 Rocks per quarter (5 per leadership team member).

If those Rocks are activity-based:

• 25 projects completed per quarter
• 100 projects completed per year
• Unknown business impact
• Team exhaustion from constant delivery
• No clear connection between effort and results

If those Rocks become outcome-based Goals:

• 25 measurable improvements targeted per quarter
• Clear success criteria for each
• Obvious when something isn't working (change tactics)
• Direct line from effort to business results

The cost of activity-based Rocks: Massive effort, uncertain return. Teams work hard but can't prove value.

What Outcome Architecture Actually Is

The Resolute Goal Canvas (Management Question 3) transforms how you think about quarterly priorities. Instead of asking "What should we do?", it asks "What should we achieve?"

The fundamental shift:

• Rocks: "What projects will we complete this quarter?"
• Goal Canvas: "What measurable outcomes will we deliver this quarter?"

Think of it this way: Rocks are like a to-do list for your quarter. The Goal Canvas is like a results contract. Both have their place, but only one tells you if you're actually winning.

The Goal Canvas: Building on EOS Rocks

The Goal Canvas doesn't replace Rocks - it gives them context and measurement. Here's how the elements work together:

Element 1: Outcome Statement

What it is: A clear, measurable result expressed in percentage, number, or dollar terms.

EOS Rock: "Launch customer portal" Goal Canvas Outcome: "Reduce support ticket volume by 30% through customer self-service"

The outcome statement transforms the Rock from a project into a result. Now you know why you're building the portal and how you'll measure success.

Element 2: Current State

What it is: Where you are today, measured the same way as your outcome.

Example:

• Outcome: Reduce support tickets by 30%
• Current State: 2,400 tickets/month
• Target State: 1,680 tickets/month

Without current state, you're guessing. With it, you have a baseline and can track progress.

Element 3: Waypoints

What it is: Monthly or bi-weekly milestones that show you're on track.

Example:

• Month 1: 2,200 tickets (portal beta with 20% of customers)
• Month 2: 1,900 tickets (portal live, 60% adoption)
• Month 3: 1,680 tickets (full adoption, refined self-service)

Waypoints give you early warning. If you're at 2,350 tickets after Month 1, something's wrong - fix it now, not at the end of the quarter.

Element 4: Leading Indicators

What it is: Metrics that predict whether you'll hit your outcome.

Example:

• Portal adoption rate (% of customers using it)
• Self-service completion rate (% who resolve without ticket)
• Knowledge base article views

Leading indicators let you manage the outcome, not just measure it. If adoption is low, you can intervene before tickets stay high.

Element 5: Owner & Contributors

What it is: Single-point accountability plus supporting team members.

EOS: Rock owner Goal Canvas: Outcome owner + specific contributors with their own metrics

This maintains EOS's clear accountability while enabling team coordination around shared outcomes.

Practical Integration: Keep Your Rocks, Add Outcomes

You don't need to abandon Rocks. You need to connect them to outcomes.

Step 1: Start with the Business Result

Before defining the Rock, ask: "What business metric should improve because of this work?"

• Not: "What project should we do?"
• But: "What outcome do we need?"

Step 2: Express Rocks as Outcomes

Transform your Rocks from activities to results:

The work might be the same. The definition of success is completely different.

Step 3: Add Waypoints to Every Rock

For each Rock, define monthly checkpoints:

Rock: Increase conversion rate from 2.1% to 3.5%

• Month 1: 2.5% (new landing pages live)
• Month 2: 3.0% (A/B testing optimized)
• Month 3: 3.5% (full funnel optimized)

Now your weekly L10 can review progress against waypoints, not just project status.

Step 4: Connect Rocks to Each Other

Some outcomes depend on others. The Goal Canvas makes these dependencies explicit:

Sales Outcome: Increase new revenue by 25%

• Depends on: Marketing outcome (qualified leads)
• Depends on: Product outcome (feature completion)
• Depends on: Success outcome (reference customers)

This prevents the common EOS problem of siloed Rocks that don't add up to business results.

The Complete Picture: EOS + Resolute Integration

EOS Rocks and Resolute Goal Canvas work together:

EOS gives you focus and rhythm. Resolute gives you outcome architecture.

Why This Matters for EOS Companies

If you're running EOS successfully, you've already built the discipline of quarterly planning. You've got the rhythm - annual planning, quarterly rocks, weekly L10s. That's significant.

Resolute builds on that foundation. The Goal Canvas doesn't replace Rocks - it transforms them from activity-completion to outcome-achievement:

• EOS gives you Rocks → Resolute adds outcome statements with metrics
• EOS gives you Rock status → Resolute adds waypoints for early warning
• EOS gives you Rock owner → Resolute adds leading indicators to manage

The next evolution is from "did we finish?" to "did we achieve?" That's where Resolute's outcome architecture and Waymaker's AI-powered tracking complete the picture.

We're not replacing EOS. We're standing on its shoulders.

Read more about EOS Scorecard evolution and discover how the 7 Questions of Leadership extend your V/TO.

Experience Outcome Architecture with Waymaker

Ready to transform your Rocks into measurable outcomes? Waymaker provides the AI-powered technology to bring outcome architecture to life.

Commander: Your Goal Canvas Home

Waymaker Commander gives you digital Goal Canvases connected to your taskboards, documents, and team. Every outcome has clear ownership, waypoints, and real-time progress tracking. See at a glance which outcomes are on track and which need intervention.

OneAI: Strategic Performance Intelligence

Ask questions like "Which outcomes are at risk this quarter?" or "What's the connection between our marketing goals and revenue targets?" - and get instant, context-aware answers. OneAI surfaces the insights hidden in your outcome data.

Real-Time Waypoint Tracking

No more waiting until quarter-end to know if Rocks will land. Commander tracks waypoints weekly, alerting you when outcomes drift off course. Intervene early, not late.

Keep your EOS rhythm. Add outcome architecture. That's how you go from completing Rocks to achieving results.

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Rocks tell you what to do. The Goal Canvas tells you what to achieve. You need both. Learn more about building your annual plan and explore the complete 5 Questions of Management that power Waymaker's approach to execution.

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