We have a few scorecard metrics that have been red for three consecutive weeks, but the owner of the number simply says they are working on it and we move on. How do we force these chronic misses onto the Issues List?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

A scorecard is an early-warning system, not a historical record of failures we have agreed to tolerate. When a metric is off-track for three consecutive weeks and you allow the owner to dismiss it with a simple update, you are training your team that the numbers do not actually matter.

To correct this, establish a hard, operational rule for your Scorecard review. If any metric is red for two consecutive weeks, it must automatically be dropped to the Issues List. There are no exceptions, no excuses, and no debates allowed during the Scorecard portion of the meeting.

When the facilitator reaches a red metric that has missed its target for a second week, they should immediately say, 'That is red again, dropping it to the Issues List.' The owner of the metric must not be allowed to explain why it is red or what they are doing to fix it at that moment.

Once the metric is on the Issues List, you will address it during the IDS® portion of the meeting. Here, the team can help the owner identify the root cause of the chronic miss. Is the target unrealistic? Is there a resource bottleneck? Or does the owner lack the capacity to hit the number?

By enforcing this rule, you protect your Scorecard review from turning into a defensive status update. You also ensure that chronic operational issues get the deep, collective problem-solving they require to be resolved permanently.