Engagement Technique: Rocks, Pebbles, Sand

A Prioritisation Exercise That Fixes Misaligned Effort

A philosophy professor once stood up before their class with a large empty jar.

They fill the jar to the top with large rocks and ask their students, “Is this jar full?”

The students said that yes, the jar was indeed full.

He then added small pebbles to the jar and gave the jar a bit of a shake, so the pebbles could disperse themselves among the larger rocks. Then he asked again, “Is the jar full now?”

The students again chuckle a bit, and agree that NOW the jar was full.

The professor then poured sand into the jar to fill up any remaining empty space.

The students (and the professor this time!), agreed that the jar was full.

Ok.. so what does this mean?

The professor went on to explain that the jar represents everything in one’s life.

The Rocks are equivalent to the most important projects and things you have going on – these must go ‘in the jar’ first or there will be no room for them later.
These can include spending time with your family, looking after your physical and mental health or practicing your faith.

The Pebbles represent the things in your life that are important but act as ‘backing singers’ to the rocks.
Pebbles are things that contribute to a meaningful life, like your job, house, hobbies and friends. Pebbles are not always permanent, can come and go and change over time (unlike rocks, which remain constant).

The Sand represents the smaller things in life that tend to fill out our time, such as material possessions, running errands, watching TV, or having a glass of wine after a long day.
We may or may not enjoy doing these things but so often we spend most of our time on. Some of us fill that jar with doom scrolling or daydreaming, or for some people this is watching the Kardashians.

The message here is that if you prioritise putting sand into the jar, your days will be filled, but you will not have room for rocks or pebbles.
If you spend all your time on the small and insignificant things, you will run out of room for the things that are actually important.

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Translating That To Work: Engagement Exercise

First of all tell this story – it will help to bring context and is a nice ‘intro’ to the exercise. Then it’s best to define what these are in a work context:

• Rocks: the critical outcomes that define success
• Pebbles: the work that supports those outcomes
• Sand: admin, reactive tasks, low-value habits

Following this, it’s good to then to get either the team or individuals input into what specifically constitutes as a rock, pebble, or sand.

• Rocks: What are the 3-5 rocks for the Quarter?
• Pebbles: What work supports these rocks but isn’t a rock itself?
• Sand: What’s filling our diaries that doesn’t allow space for Rocks & Pebbles.

 

For the ‘Sand’ part, you might want to look at the ‘Will It Make the Boat Go Faster‘, or ‘Marginal Gains‘ exercises, as we’re not removing sand, but figuring out what sand is best!

This is a great way to visualise and simplify what you’re doing. Your key goals, the work needed, and prioritising what else should stay or be left behind to achieve the goals.

Beyond this, you can adapt to make it relevant to your company.

You could do this exercise yourself, and extend it beyond work – equally you can suggest it’s an exercise your team can do themselves too!

 

Why it works

• People disengage when they feel busy but ineffective, clarifying the rocks will reconnect effort to IMPACT.
• Recognising that some of that sand just isn’t needed, will help people let go and not just ‘keep busy’ because they feel they have to. There should be some relieve when things come off their to do list (much like ‘Will it’)
• You will understand if your people understand what’s important. If they don’t know your rocks, that’s on you – not them! Better to find this out in a workshop than at year end, and better to align the team to set them up for success.

What to watch out for

• Leadership Avoidance – If leadership don’t let go of sand, then this exercise becomes theatre and no-one will follow through. Don’t run it unless you’re prepared to ‘remove’ something
• KEEP. ROCKS. MINIMAL – Don’t add tonnes as the whole point is lost. Force constraint, but you can keep those rocks big!
• Remember – as great as these exercises are, you HAVE to be prepared to follow through, the more ‘unloved’ engagement techniques the more cynicism grows, and the less engagement you get. This is a more time consuming and resource requiring technique!

 

The takeaway

It’s common for sand to expand and fill peoples jars. Engagement will improve when people know what matters, why, and if their effort aligns with what matters. Fill the jar with purpose!

 

This post is part of our Engagement Techniques series of practical, low-cost ideas to bring more connection and meaning into work. Find the rest here

👉 Want to explore techniques like this in more depth? I run interactive employee engagement workshops where we bring these ideas to life.