Several of our key operational scorecard metrics rely on data from third-party vendors that is not finalized until mid-week, meaning we always have blank cells for the current week during our Tuesday morning Level 10 Meeting™. How do we manage these delayed numbers without losing our weekly pulse?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

Running your Level 10 Meeting™ with blank cells or missing data undermines the value of the Scorecard. However, forcing the team to guess or use incomplete numbers is equally dangerous.

The solution is to shift the reporting window for those specific delayed metrics. Instead of trying to report on the immediate past week, change the target date for those metrics to a trailing one-week lag. This means your Tuesday scorecard will display the finalized data from two weeks prior for those specific numbers.

While we always prefer real-time indicators, a consistent and accurate trailing metric is far better than a blank cell or an inaccurate estimate. It still allows the leadership team to spot trends, review performance, and drop issues to the list when a metric is off track.

When you make this shift, clearly label these metrics on your Scorecard so everyone knows they represent lagging data.

Additionally, the metric owner should continue to push the third-party vendors to deliver data faster. If a vendor consistently delays your weekly operational visibility, that itself is an issue that should be placed on the Issues List and solved.