Our weekly Level 10 Scorecard metrics are almost always green, yet we consistently miss our quarterly Rocks and financial targets. How do we identify and cut out these useless vanity metrics and replace them with numbers that actually predict our future performance?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

If your scorecard is green but your results are red, you are tracking lagging indicators instead of leading indicators. Lagging indicators tell you what already happened, which is useless for running proactive weekly operations. By the time a lagging metric turns red, the damage is done and you have already missed your quarterly targets.

To fix this, you must rebuild your scorecard with a focus on activity-based, predictive numbers. Look at your quarterly Rocks and your long-term goals. Ask yourselves what daily activities must occur to guarantee those outcomes.

For example, if your Rock is to close five new enterprise contracts, do not track signed contracts on your weekly scorecard. Instead, track the number of face-to-face meetings scheduled or proposals submitted. If your goal is to reduce customer churn, do not track lost customers; track weekly customer check-in calls or onboarding milestones achieved.

Every metric on your scorecard must have a direct, logical connection to a future result. If a number does not give you a seven-day warning that a problem is coming, it is waste. Cut it out. Your scorecard should act as an early-warning system, allowing you to IDS® and solve issues weeks before they impact your bottom line or derail your quarterly momentum.