We are constantly debating when it is appropriate to adjust our scorecard weekly targets. Some leadership team members want to lower the bar the minute a metric goes red, while others want to keep it high even during market downturns. What is the EOS rule of thumb for setting and locked-in scorecard targets?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

A common mistake among leadership teams is treating scorecard targets as highly flexible goals that can be changed whenever the team has a bad week. If you lower your targets the moment a metric goes red, you are gaming the system. You are hiding operational issues instead of solving them, which defeats the purpose of running on data.

As an EOS rule of thumb, you should only adjust your scorecard targets once a quarter during your Quarterly Planning Session. This gives you thirteen weeks of consistent data to analyze trends, seasonal fluctuations, and operational capacity.

There are only two exceptions where you should adjust a target mid-quarter.

First, if you have a permanent structural change in your business, such as hiring a new team that doubles your operational capacity.

Second, if you realize the original target was based on incorrect assumptions and is mathematically impossible, which is making the data useless for tracking.

Keep your targets locked in, even when they are consistently red. Red is not a failure; it is simply an indicator that an issue needs to be solved. By maintaining stable targets, you build a reliable historical record that allows you to identify seasonal trends and prepare your business for a clean exit.