Go fetch a rock is a corporate game that wastes time and frustrates players. I’ve met leaders who play intentionally. They believe direct reports should know what the boss wants without having to be told. Good luck with that. Most leaders play unintentionally. They think they’ve been clear, but clarity is in the eyes of the fetcher.
Learning how you can easily slip into playing go fetch a rock, will help you avoid it.
What is Go Fetch a Rock?
Michelle is Andres manager. Andres is in charge of new product development. She asks him to put together a presentation on a critical new product so she can update her boss and peers at their next staff meeting. Typically Michelle would invite Andres to present, but he’s on vacation next week.
Two days later, Andres sends Michelle the presentation. She takes one look at how long it is and calls Andres into her office. She asks him to cut it down by 50%.
I don’t know about you, but once I’ve written something, it’s very hard to slash and burn. After all, if the information wasn’t important, I wouldn’t have included it in the first place. Andres knows Michelle needs this before he leaves, so he drops everything and gets to work on the edits. He toils over the changes, spending almost as much time as he did on the original copy.
The next morning he drops the new presentation on Michelle’s desk. She calls at noon to inform Andres she needs time for Q&A but he hasn’t baked that into the revised presentation. Andres picks up on Michelle’s impatience and strains to keep his own frustration in check. He can’t possibly get to this and all the other things he has to do before vacation, so he tells Michelle she’ll have it Monday morning. She’s presenting on Tuesday.
Michelle is anxious about not having enough time to review and prepare before she presents to her boss. Andres is disappointed and upset about having to tell his family he’ll be working day one of their long overdue vacation.
How to Avoid Go Fetch a Rock
Michelle could have been clearer about what she wanted and needed. Andres could have asked more questions. Either way, the following questions will help all parties understand the parameters of the desired rock. Select 3 – 5 to help you avoid playing go fetch a rock.
- What purpose is the rock serving?
- Who’s the end user?
- Who needs to approve the rock?
- What would make this the perfect or near perfect rock?
- What would cause this to be a disappointing rock?
- Are there any other specifics you have in mind about the rock?
- What important questions am I not asking you about the rock?