Rocks are your team's 90-day priorities. These are the handful of goals that matter most this quarter. A well-written Rock removes ambiguity, making it so everyone on your team knows what success looks like, who owns it, and when it's due. 

The SMART framework gives you a consistent structure for capturing that clarity before the quarter begins. Owners, Admins, Managers, Implementers, and Managees/Team Members can add SMART details to the description field on any Rock assigned to their team. To learn how to create a Rock first, see Creating and Setting Up Rocks.

What makes a Rock SMART?

SMART stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Timely. In the context of EOS®, each criterion maps to how Rocks are written, tracked, and reviewed during your Level 10 Meeting®:

• Specific: The Rock title states the goal clearly. The description answers what, precisely, will be achieved, and who owns it.
• Measurable: Success is defined by a metric or observable outcome, not a general feeling. You should be able to answer "Is this complete?" with a clear yes or no at quarter end.
• Achievable: The goal is ambitious but realistic given your team's Competency, Commitment, and Capacity (CCC). EOS best practice is to set Rocks you have at least an 80% chance of completing this quarter.
• Realistic: The goal is grounded in your current business reality. It reflects where your company is today, not where you hope it will be. A Realistic Rock is sized and scoped for this quarter's actual constraints, not an ideal future state.
• Timely: The Rock fits within the 90-day window. EOS structures work in 90-day sprints precisely because shorter horizons keep priorities focused and accountability clear. Milestones are the tool for confirming the goal can be reached within that window.

Applying SMART criteria to your Rocks

SMART details belong in the description field of your Rock, not in the title. Keep the title concise and direct; something like "Launch updated onboarding flow." Use the description to answer the SMART questions in full.

To open the description field and add your SMART details:

1. Click Rocks from the left navigation.
2. Click the Rock you want to update to open its detail panel.
3. Click the description field and add your SMART details.

Changes are saved automatically.

Copy-and-paste template

Copy the text below and paste it into the description field of your Rock. Fill in each section before the quarter begins.

Creating Rock with AI assistance

If you'd prefer to draft your SMART details with the help of AI, Ninety's built-in assistant, Maz, can walk you through each criterion and generate a Rock description for you. Maz is available on the Thrive plan and must be initiated from the Rocks tool. See Create SMART Rocks with AI Assistance from Maz to get started.

Using milestones for the time-bound criterion

Milestones are the most practical way to address the T in SMART. Each milestone breaks the Rock into a smaller, dated step with its own owner and due date, so your team can track progress across the quarter rather than waiting until the final week to assess completion.

One important thing to know: a milestone's status does not automatically change the parent Rock's status. If a milestone falls behind, you'll need to manually update the Rock's status to off-track so your team can discuss it at your next L10.

For step-by-step instructions on adding, assigning, and managing milestones, see Adding Milestones to Your Rocks.

Troubleshooting

I can't edit the Rock description. The description field is editable by Owners, Admins, Managers, Implementers, and Managees/Team Members on the Rock's assigned team. If the field appears read-only, confirm that you are the Rock's assigned owner or a member of the team the Rock belongs to. Observers can view Rock details but cannot edit them. If you've confirmed your role and the field is still locked, contact support.

I added SMART details, but a team member can't see them. Rock descriptions are visible to all members of the team the Rock is assigned to. If a team member reports that the description appears blank, have them confirm they're viewing the correct team in the team selector at the top of the Rocks page.

Maz isn't appearing when I try to draft a SMART Rock. Maz requires a Thrive plan and must be initiated from the Rocks tool — it is not available from the My 90 page. You must also be the assigned owner of the Rock for the Maz option to appear. See Create SMART Rocks with AI Assistance from Maz for the full list of prerequisites. If you've confirmed all prerequisites and Maz still doesn't appear, contact support.