How to Create Rocks in Ninety

Our step-by-step guide for creating quarterly goals in Ninety.

Written by Tommy Mains

Updated at March 6th, 2025

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Table of Contents

What Are Rocks? Creating Rocks in Ninety Types of Rocks — Company, Departmental, Individual Adding Milestones to a Rock Editing Rocks

Documenting your Rocks in NInety gives your organization a centralized platform to record its progress quarter after quarter. Most teams identify Rock candidates during Quarterly Planning Meetings and refine their scope during the first couple weeks of the quarter.

Tip: Use our Insights tool to track Rock and Milestone progress.

 

What Are Rocks?

Rocks are quarterly goals that help teams progress toward their organization's annual goals and vision for the future. These are significant objectives outside the scope of daily work, such as launching a new project, improving a process, or achieving a milestone within a larger initiative.

 

 

Creating Rocks in Ninety

There are three ways to create a new Rock in Ninety:

  • Using the global Create button
  • From your team's page in the Rocks tool
  • As a Linked Rock from another item

 

Using the Create Button

To create a new Rock from the global Create button:

  1. Click the Create button on the top right of the page.
  2. Select Rock from the dropdown at the top of the popup.
  3. Write the Rock's title.
  4. Click the profile icon to assign an accountable user.If you don't see the intended user, change teams from the dropdown.
  5. Assign a due date (the default is 90 days from the current date).
  6. Write a description (we recommend using the Smart methodology).
  7. Select the Rock's status (on-track, off-track, complete, or canceled).
  8. Assign a primary team. You may choose to add this Rock to additional teams with the Add to other teams dropdown.
  9. Click Create Rock.

View a step-by-step tutorial

 

 
 
 
 

Creating in the Rocks Tool

To create a new Rock from your team's page in the Rocks tool:

  1. Click Rocks from the left navigation.
  2. Click + Add Rock on a user's card.
  3. Write the Rock's title and press Enter or click the checkmark.
  4. Click on the Rock's row to open its details panel to edit its content.
  5. Use the details panel to:
    1. Assign an accountable person
    2. Add a description
    3. Create Miletsontes
    4. Add attachments and comments

View a step-by-step tutorial

 
 
 
 

Creating Linked Rocks

Linked Rocks show the item(s) it's linked to in the Linked Items section of its details card.

You can create a linked Rock from an existing item in Ninety (such as a Rock, To-Do, Issue, or Headline) during a meeting or by navigating to the corresponding tool from the left navigation.

To link an existing item to a new Rock:

  1. Right-click the item's row.
  2. Click Create Linked Rock from the dropdown.
  3. Edit details as desired from the popup.
    1. The assigned due date will be 90 days out.
    2. The title and description start the same as the initial item's.
  4. Click the Create Linked Rock button.

To unlink an item from a Rock, the user assigned to the Rock should:

  1. Click Rocks from the left navigation.
  2. Click the Rock to open its details panel.
  3. Scroll down to the Linked Items section and click Edit.
  4. Click Unlink.
 
 

 

 

Types of Rocks — Company, Departmental, Individual

The default Rock type is considered an individual Rock, which is where one person is accountable for its completion. Teams can then choose to elevate a Rock's importance to the company or departmental level.

  • Company Rocks: Set by the Leadership Team (LT) to drive organizational goals.
  • Departmental Rocks: Prioritized Rocks at the team/department level.
  • Individual Rocks: Assigned to a team member based on their role and responsibilities.

 

To mark a Rock as a Company or Departmental:

  1. Click Rocks from the left navigation.
  2. Click the Rock to open its details panel.
  3. Click the corresponding circle to mark the goal as a Company Rock or Departmental Rock.
     

 

Adding Milestones to a Rock

Milestones help track progress toward completing a Rock. To add Milestones to one of your Rocks:

  1.  Click Rocks from the left navigation.
  2. Ensure the correct team is selected at the top.
  3. Click the Rock to open its details panel.
  4. Click + Add Milestone
  5. Click Add.

 

 

Editing Rocks

To edit a Rock, click its row to open its details panel. From there, you can edit or add to the Rock's:

  • Title
  • Due Date
  • Description
  • Primary team
  • Additional team visibility
  • Milestones
  • Attachments
  • Comments

 

 

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