Arrive Insights and Tools
This update includes stories, insights, and tools you can apply right away to help you (and the organization you work with) to be more focused, aligned and impactful.
Each edition describes a specific tool focused on personal goal setting, organizational strategy and planning, leadership skills, improving team performance, and enacting reconciliation.
If you would like to receive this update by email (sent out 4-8 times per year), please subscribe at the bottom of this page.
Past editions
- May 2026: The “rocks” approach to planning
Insight: An evolving approach to strategic planning
I’ve been supporting organizations to build the future they desire since 2002. My first strategic planning experiences occurred while working as a volunteer with a youth-led organization in Tanzania.
Physical resources (from operational funding to office supplies) were extremely limited, but human resources were abundant, as these youth worked tirelessly, for little to no money, to improve their communities. Here is one of the early strategic plans I worked on (shown here with two of the youth I worked with – apologies for the poor image quality, this was 24 years ago!):
Over the years, my approach to planning has become increasingly streamlined. In the early days, a strategic plan would be a months-long undertaking resulting in a 20-40 page document with detailed timelines and accountabilities.
As I worked with more clients, I started to gravitate towards a more agile structure where planning was more emergent and responsive to ever-changing contexts, and a “strategic plan” could be a 1-page graphic or a few lines of text expressing a high-level purpose and goals.
Currently, I’ve settled somewhere in the middle. Organizations do need to be crystal clear on their long-term vision, and everyone in the organization should be able to describe in simple language why they exist, why their work matters, and where they are going.
At the same time, reality is messy, and plans don’t always materialize in the way they think they will – sometimes the results are less than we expected, but sometimes they surpass anything we could have imagined.
One method I’ve been using lately is the “rocks” approach to planning. Here is a brief description of what it is and how to use it.
Tool: The “rocks” approach to planning
The “rocks” approach works well when organizations have a clear long-term vision and mission. If you don’t already have a clear vision that everyone in your organization is informed about, you need to start there first. One approach is the Entrepreneurial Operating System’s Vision/Traction Organizer, a template which uses a 10-year target and a 3-year picture, but there are many ways to do this.
Once you have a clear long-term vision and everyone on your team understands your organizational purpose, you can work as a team to identify your rocks. The term “rocks” comes from a metaphor popularized by Stephen Covey. Imagine there is a glass cylinder that represents all the time you have in a day. Next to the cylinder are:
- Rocks (your big priorities)
- Pebbles (your day-to-day responsibilities)
- Sand (interruptions)
- Water (everything else you get hit with during the day)
If you put in the water, sand and pebbles first, you won’t have any space for the rocks. But if you put the rocks in first, the other elements can be added and will settle around the rocks, with everything falling into place. The lesson is to prioritize what is most important, set clear and achievable goals, and break the habit of trying to focus on everything at once.
Why it works
The rocks approach works because it forces teams to limit their priorities to those that matter most. As business guru Patrick Lencioni says, “If everything is important, then nothing is.” By limiting priorities, you can focus on what’s most important. The most successful teams are clear on the outcomes that want to achieve and work in alignment towards those outcomes.
It also works because it combines a long-term vision (which can feel inspiring, but also overwhelming or vague) into shorter, more tangible, achievable steps.
And finally, when checking in about rocks is integrated into weekly or bi-weekly team meetings, it ensures that they team stays focused and supports each other when barriers arise, before issues become fires that need to be put out.
How to use a “rocks” approach to planning
There could be many ways to come up with your rocks. Here are a few methods I have used.
As a team
1. Review your vision and purpose: Meet together, virtually or in-person. If your organization has a clear vision or purpose statement, begin by making sure everyone on the team knows what it is and how it relates to your work. If not, do that work first
2. Brainstorm: As a team, engage in a brainstorming session around the question: What do we want to achieve in the next 100-days to support our organizational vision/mission? Using sticky note brainstorming (or an online equivalent) is a good way to get everyone’s ideas out there. During the brainstorming, resist the urge to talk with each other: Some people need the quiet to do their own thinking, and you want the best of everyone’s ideas.
When everyone is done generating ideas, it’s time to share. At this point, don’t limit yourself. Every idea is at least 10% good, and that 10% may be the foundation for the next great idea! Think of as many ways as possible that you could achieve the future you’ve envisioned.
3. Prioritize: Finally, start to narrow it down using a consensus-based process. What are the 3-5 most impactful things you could do in the next 100-days to bring your vision to life? Compare all the ideas you’ve come up with, and choose those that are both realistic, urgent and high-impact. Discuss and debate until the whole group agrees to the 3-5 rocks you’ve selected. Don’t try to do everything at once or plan too far ahead – limit the number of rocks and the time-period (the next 100 days).
Rocks must be:
• Clear and measurable – there should be no doubt about whether they have been achieved or not after the 100-days is complete
• Have a due date
• Be assigned a lead person who is accountable for that rock4. Integrate: Once you’ve identified your 3-5 rocks, that is only the beginning. This exercise will be useless if you don’t build in a regular check-in process. Meet weekly, or at least every other week, to discuss how you are doing on your rocks and where you might need to address internal or external barriers to move forward.
5. Repeat and Improve: When 100 days has passed, meet as a team to reflect on the process and what could make it even better. Then repeat, tweaking it each time to support continuous improvement. It will take time to learn this system, but the end result will be a more focused and effective team.
In doing this work, you will not only clarify your team’s strategy, but also you will improve on the five elements of a high-performing team: A clear reason for existing, alignment about your goals and roles, open and positive communication with each other, awareness of internal and external needs, and learning about how you work best as a team.
As an individual
If you’re stuck with this, team coaching may be a great fit for your team. It builds leadership in practice, so that developing as a team is linked to getting your work done effectively within a healthy work culture. If you want a guide throughout the process, consider strategic business planning.
1. Clarify your vision and purpose: Start by getting out of your head. One way to do this is through a vision board or art activity focused on the question “What do I want the next year of my life to be like?” Feel into what really matters to you and what would make your life better. Another option is a silent nature walk, followed by some journaling on your vision.
2. Brainstorm: Once you have a clear vision, start brainstorming. If possible, use a physical method like a notebook (include doodles if you want) or putting each of your ideas on a sticky note and grouping them by theme. At this point, don’t limit yourself. Think of as many ways as possible that you could achieve the future you’ve envisioned.
3. Prioritize: Finally, start to narrow it down. What are the 3-5 most impactful things you could do in the next 100-days to bring your vision to life? Compare all the ideas you’ve come up with, and choose those that are both realistic and high-impact.
Write down your 3-5 rocks and place them somewhere that you will be able to see them frequently. Don’t try to do everything: Limit yourself to those 3-5 rocks and a 100-day time period. Think about who might you need to involve, or what resources you might need, to be successful at achieving your rocks. Plan out a schedule for when you will work on each of them.
4. Integrate: Build in a regular reflection time in your calendar (for example, once a week) to think about how you are doing on your rocks and where you might need to get unstuck.
5. Repeat and Improve: When 100 days has passed, reflect on the process and what could make it even better. Then repeat, tweaking it each time to support continuous improvement.
Personal leadership coaching can be a great tool for staying motivated and getting unstuck, and so can connecting with an accountability buddy, friend, or partner. Arrive’s One Clear Day workshop also provides a guided, interactive experience of creating a 100-day plan.
