We have thirteen metrics on our weekly Scorecard, but they all feel like lagging indicators that tell us what happened last week rather than helping us predict where we will be next month. How do we design truly predictive, leading indicators for our Scorecard?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

If your weekly Scorecard is filled with lagging indicators, you are driving your business by looking in the rearview mirror. Reviewing past revenue, closed deals, or completed projects tells you where you have been, but it does not give you the warning signs you need to course-correct before a bad month happens.

To build a truly predictive Scorecard, you must identify the leading activities that directly generate your lagging results. Every operational outcome is preceded by human behaviors that can be measured.

Use this methodology to design leading indicators:

- First, map the activity that occurs two to four weeks before a result. For example, instead of tracking closed deals, track the number of outbound discovery calls or discovery meetings scheduled.

- Second, assign clear, measurable weekly targets to these activity metrics. If your team must generate ten proposals to close two deals, your weekly Scorecard metric must be ten proposals submitted.

- Third, ensure every single metric on your Scorecard has an owner who is directly accountable for that number.

When your Scorecard tracks leading indicators, a drop in activity in week two warns you of a revenue drop in week six. This visibility allows your leadership team to use your Level 10 Meeting™ to solve the activity problem before it turns into a financial crisis.