We have dozens of operational numbers we want to keep an eye on, but we know the leadership scorecard should only have five to fifteen metrics. How do we structure the relationship between our leadership scorecard and our departmental scorecards so we do not lose visibility?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

The common mistake is trying to cram every operational metric onto the leadership scorecard. This creates data fatigue and dilutes your focus. The leadership scorecard is designed to give you a high-level pulse of the entire business, not a granular view of every department.

To solve this, build a tiered scorecard system where your departmental scorecards act as early warning systems that roll up to the leadership team.

Every department on your Accountability Chart should have its own weekly scorecard with five to fifteen metrics specific to their function. For example, the marketing department tracks click-through rates and lead counts. The customer service department tracks response times.

The leadership scorecard should only contain the absolute critical roll-up numbers from those departments. If a leadership metric goes red, you look at the departmental scorecard to diagnose the problem.

For instance, if your sales revenue metric on the leadership scorecard is red, the sales leader looks at their departmental scorecard to see if outbound calls or demo bookings are down.

This structure keeps the leadership scorecard clean and focused, while ensuring that every metric in the business is being watched weekly by the people responsible for running those departments.