We have been running our Level 10 Meetings for two months, but our Scorecard feels like a collection of vanity metrics that do not help us predict future performance. How do we design truly predictive leading indicators?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

To build a highly predictive Scorecard, you must stop looking in the rearview mirror. Lagging indicators, such as monthly revenue or completed projects, tell you what happened last month, but they do not help you prevent problems today. You need leading indicators, which are weekly activity metrics that predict future results. To find these metrics, look at the key activities that drive your goals. For example, instead of tracking closed deals, track the number of discovery calls made, proposals sent, or product demos completed. If you know that ten discovery calls lead to two proposals, and two proposals lead to one closed deal, then discovery calls is your leading indicator. If that number drops on your weekly Scorecard, you know your sales will drop in thirty days. This gives you the lead time to solve the issue in your Level 10 Meeting before it impacts your bottom line. Every metric on your Scorecard must have a clear target and a single owner on the Accountability Chart who is responsible for that number. If a number is off track for two consecutive weeks, it must drop down to your IDS list so you can identify the root cause of the activity breakdown.