This is Issue 03 of Escape Velocity, a monthly newsletter for business leaders who want more from their business and their life.

Somewhere around week seven, you look at the Rock sheet and find one nobody has touched.

I have been that person. My name was in the who column and I meant every word of it. Then seven weeks of actually running the business happened in between, and the Rock I cared most about was the one thing nobody was going to escalate to me. You are past halfway, the deadline stopped being theoretical, and the thing you swore mattered most on day one is sitting exactly where you left it.

That is this issue. Not guilt, mechanics. Why Rocks slip, who actually owns them, and what changes the moment one name goes in the “who” column.

Mastering Rocks

A video, an article, and a one page tool. Everything I know about running a Rock instead of letting it run you.

Rock Mastery: Run Your Rocks Before They Run You (video, 11:31)

Most Rocks do not fail at the end. They fail in week two, when nothing happens and nobody notices. This is the system I use to keep that from happening, including the one word that tends to get teams in trouble at the weekly meeting. Off track is not a confession of failure. It is a request for help, and the sooner it gets said out loud the cheaper it is.

The 90-Day Rock Planner (free tool)

One page. Print it, fill it in, put it where you will see it. It is the tool I walk through in the video, and it exists because a Rock you cannot see is a Rock you will not finish. Free, no email required.

Whose Rock Is It? (new this month)

This is the question I get in almost every session room, and it never gets asked loudly. Is that a company Rock or my Rock? The answer is simpler than most teams expect, and it turns on a single name in a single column. I also retire a phrase that has done real damage to good teams.

The Emotional Journey of Running on EOS (worth reading)

Missing half your Rocks in the first quarter is not a sign the system is broken. It is the part of the curve nobody warns you about. If this issue has you staring at a Rock sheet you would rather not look at, read this one next. It is the honest version of what the first few quarters actually feel like.

Events Coming Up

Three worth putting on your calendar over the next month.

ENRG HTX, Clarity Breaks · August 21, 2026 The Ion · 4201 Main St, Houston · 8:30 to 10:00 AM · Free · Taught by Kurt Schneiber

Rocks are what you execute. A Clarity Break is how you work out whether they were the right ones in the first place. Kurt is teaching this one, and it pairs with this issue better than I planned. If you want my version of it, it started with a family photo in front of an F-14 and ended with me admitting I had not thought clearly in months. As always we close with IDS, so bring a real issue.

RSVP for August 21 → · Warm-up read: Maverick, Reengage!

UNSTOPPABLE! The Data Workshop · September 10, 2026 Three Post Oak Central · 2000 Post Oak Blvd, Houston · 8:30 AM to 5:00 PM · Hosted by the Houston EOS Implementers

Here is the one I actually want you to act on. A full day led by Mark Stanley and Angel Kalemis, who wrote the EOS material on the Data Component. Most teams can tell me how they feel about the business. Fewer can tell me what the numbers say, and that gap is where the arguments live. Bring a couple of your leaders, not just yourself.

Houston Energy and Climate Startup Week · September 14 to 18, 2026 Venues across Houston · Hosted by the Rice Alliance and the Ion

Not one of mine, but worth the calendar space. It opens four days after the Data Workshop, which makes that whole stretch a good week to pay attention to what is getting built in this city.

See the schedule →

Client Spotlight

Kathleen Perley, CEO of Adair, was just named to the Houston Business Journal’s 2026 Women Who Mean Business class.

Seventy eight honorees across the whole city this year, and she earned hers. I get a front row seat to how that team operates, and the recognition is just catching up to something the people around her have known for a while.

Congratulations, Kathleen. Well earned.

That is August. If you are starting the quarter, or carrying a Rock with no real plan behind it, stop and solidify the plan first. Plan your work, then work your plan. And when something goes off track, call it out at your next Level 10. Watch how fast your team comes to life to support you.

Cheers, Craig Ceccanti EOS Implementer