We have spent several weeks trying to build our weekly Scorecard but we keep arguing over which numbers to track, resulting in a bloated sheet that nobody looks at. How do we narrow down our scorecard to the absolute critical few metrics that actually run the business?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

A scorecard with too many numbers is just as useless as a scorecard with none. If you are tracking thirty things on your weekly Scorecard, you are managing status, not leading operations. You must narrow your focus to the five to fifteen critical leading indicators. To do this, start by identifying your key business drivers. Look at the key activities that must happen every week to produce your financial results. For example, instead of tracking closed revenue, which is a lagging indicator, track the number of sales meetings booked or proposals sent, which are leading indicators. Every number on your Scorecard must have a clear owner who is accountable for that metric. If a number does not have a single owner on your Accountability Chart, remove it. If a number does not trigger a conversation when it falls below target, remove it. Your weekly Scorecard should act as an early warning system. It must be so simple that you can look at it for five seconds and instantly know if the business had a good week or a bad week. Start with five key metrics, master the habit of tracking them, and only add more when you can clearly prove they are necessary to predict your operational success.