We have a department director who has missed their weekly scorecard target for six weeks straight, but they insist the target is unrealistic due to market conditions. How do we determine if the target is wrong or if we have the wrong person in the seat?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

When a scorecard metric is consistently red, you must separate the process from the person. To determine whether the target is truly unrealistic or if your department director is failing to perform, you must run a systematic diagnostic using the tools of the Entrepreneurial Operating System.

First, evaluate the seat using the Accountability Chart. Does the director truly GWC™ (Get It, Want It, and have the Capacity to do) the job? If they lack the conative drive, resources, or skills required for the seat, the target will always feel unrealistic to them.

Next, audit the target itself. Is the number grounded in historical performance and operational reality, or was it an arbitrary number created without data? Ask the director to show you the math behind the target.

If the target was set based on your V/TO® goals but has never been achieved in the history of the company, it may indeed be an unrealistic expectation that needs adjustment.

However, if other team members or industry benchmarks prove the target is achievable, the issue is execution. If the director spends their time during the Level 10 Meeting™ explaining away the red numbers rather than presenting solutions, they are demonstrating a lack of accountability.

A true owner of a seat does not complain about a target. They work to find new strategies, tools, or processes to hit it. If they cannot, and you have verified the math is sound, you have a people issue, not a target issue, and it is time to make a change.