We are building our first company scorecard and are overwhelmed trying to narrow our entire operation down to just five to fifteen weekly metrics. How do we filter through dozens of operational data points to select the vital few numbers that actually tell us if we are winning or losing?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

Selecting your five to fifteen scorecard metrics requires you to step back and look at the vital organs of your business. If your building was on fire and you could only look at one sheet of paper with a few numbers to know the health of your company, what would those numbers be? Start by looking at your Accountability Chart. Every major function of your business, from marketing and sales to operations and finance, must be represented on the scorecard. To find the right numbers, ask each seat leader what single weekly activity dictates their success or failure. For sales, it is not total revenue closed, which is a lagging indicator. It is the number of discovery calls booked. For operations, it is not annual customer satisfaction, but the weekly error rate or on-time delivery percentage. Avoid the temptation to track everything. If you track thirty numbers, you track nothing. Focus on high-leverage activities that create a chain reaction throughout the company. Choose metrics that are objective, easily measured, and directly tied to your weekly operations. Once you select your initial ten or twelve numbers, run with them for a few weeks. You will quickly realize which numbers are useless noise and which ones are truly predictive. Refine the list over time until you have a tight, balanced scorecard that gives you a complete pulse of the business.