EOS Rock examples for a 90-day data licensing exploration

What does a well-formed Rock for exploring a data license look like?

A good Rock names one owner, one measurable result and a date inside the quarter, for example: "Complete a metadata-only inventory of our records systems and bring a go or no-go recommendation to the leadership team by the end of week 12." It explores a license; it does not promise one. Nothing is binding until the company agrees price and terms and signs.

This page gives EOS implementers and Integrators adaptable wording for company Rocks and individual Rocks, plus a way to score each Rock before it goes on the V/TO or the quarterly Scorecard. SourceX is a data licensing platform: the company keeps ownership, licenses its operational records to AI labs and data buyers, and receives one all-in price. A Rock is simply the vehicle for deciding, in 90 days, whether that is worth pursuing.

When does a data license deserve a Rock?

Give it a Rock when the question has stopped being a hallway idea and needs an owner and a deadline. Keep it on the Issues List when the leadership team has not yet decided whether to look at it at all; the IDS example on records licensing shows how to resolve that first.

A Rock fits when at least three of these are true:

• The company has 50+ full-time employees at peak (contractors excluded) and several years of documented operations.
• Records sit in many systems, such as email, Slack or Teams, CRM, finance, support, engineering and operations tools.
• Someone in the room can authorize a decision: the owner, CEO, CFO or another authorized representative.
• A system retirement, migration or archive clean-up is already on the calendar, which creates a natural deadline for deciding.

Which Rock examples can be adapted?

The table shows five Rocks at different levels of ambition. Every one ends in a decision or a deliverable, never in a sale.

"Metadata only" matters. The inventory lists systems and date ranges, not the records themselves, and nobody opens or copies confidential content to complete it. The data inventory builder helps structure that list.

How do you write the Rock so it passes the SMART test?

Run each draft through five checks before the team accepts it.

• Specific: one result, not "look into data licensing".
• Measurable: a count, a document or a recorded decision that anyone can verify as done or not done.
• Achievable: the owner controls the inputs, or the Rock names who they need.
• Relevant: it ties to a 1-year goal such as a systems migration, a cash decision or an exit plan.
• Time-bound: a date in the quarter, with a mid-quarter checkpoint at week 6 or 7.

Rewrite weak drafts. "Explore AI data opportunities" becomes "Deliver a one-page inventory of records systems and a go or no-go recommendation by March 28." The Integrator is usually the right person to hold the pen. See Integrator responsibilities in a data licensing project for how the seat maps to each step.

Rock templates to copy

Use these as starting wording and change the names, systems and dates.

How do you personalize a Rock for your client?

What should the quarterly rhythm look like?

Review the Rock at each weekly Level 10 meeting as on track or off track, as with any other Rock. A sensible pattern is week 2 for sponsor and steward, week 6 for the inventory draft, week 9 for the rights memo, and week 12 for the decision. If rights or the sponsor are unresolved by week 6, say so early and drop the Rock rather than carrying it forward out of habit. The operations audit checklist is a useful companion for the inventory step.

What should never go into a Rock?

• Confidential records, sample files or screenshots of customer data.
• Any promise that a license will happen, or when a buyer will respond.
• Any payment amount or target for the company or for you as partner.
• Instructions for staff to export or upload data before the company has agreed terms and de-identification rules with SourceX.

How do partner rewards work for an implementer?

Partners earn 25% of the eligible platform fees SourceX actually collects from the referred company's licensing deals, capped at $100,000 per referred company. Rewards become payable only after the buyer pays and SourceX receives its fee; a lead, meeting or signed agreement alone does not trigger payment, and no reward is guaranteed. The reward is a share of SourceX's fee and is never deducted from what the company receives. Check your own engagement letters and any disclosure expectations with your clients, and see the program terms. Management consultants can compare their position on the consultant page.

Next step

Pick one client with a migration or an exit conversation on the calendar and draft the first Rock from the templates above. Then register as a partner, or use the network opportunity finder to see which other clients to screen first. The who qualifies page lists the company baseline.