Our leadership team members often argue about the accuracy of our weekly scorecard data, which leads to long debates during our Level 10 Meeting. How do we establish absolute ownership of data accuracy so we can focus on solving issues?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

When a leadership team debates the validity of scorecard data during a meeting, the meeting is broken. You cannot solve problems with dirty data, and you cannot afford to waste time arguing about spreadsheets.

To fix this, you must establish absolute ownership of data accuracy. Every metric on your scorecard must be owned by a single seat on your Accountability Chart. That seat owner is not just responsible for hitting the target. They are responsible for the accuracy of the data reported.

If a leader claims their data is wrong because of system issues or someone else's input, they are failing to GWC™ their seat. The seat owner must verify the data before the Level 10 Meeting™ starts.

Make it a rule that if a number is on the scorecard, it is assumed to be correct. If a leader suspects their data is inaccurate, they must resolve the data pipeline issue outside of the meeting.

By enforcing this discipline, you eliminate the defensive debates that stall meetings. Leaders will take the time to clean up their processes because they know they will be held accountable for whatever number is on the board. Running on data requires trust in the data, and that trust starts with individual ownership.