We struggle to separate true leading indicators from mere activity tracking on our weekly Scorecard. How do we ensure our activity metrics actually influence our business results instead of just tracking busywork?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

Busywork is the enemy of a great Scorecard. Many leadership teams fall into the trap of tracking simple volume metrics, like emails sent or hours worked, which do not predict anything. To separate vanity activities from true leading indicators, you must test the causal relationship between your metric and your target results. A true leading indicator must be predictive and actionable. This means that if the metric is green, it highly correlates with a green lagging result in the future. For example, tracking the number of discovery calls completed with qualified buyers is a leading indicator because it directly predicts future pipeline value. Conversely, tracking total outbound dials is just an activity metric that can easily be gamed and does not guarantee results. To audit your Scorecard, look at each number and ask yourself what happens if this number is red for three weeks in a row. If the answer is nothing, then you are tracking busywork and the metric should be removed. Work with your leadership team to reverse-engineer your major revenue and delivery targets. Find the one or two critical high-impact activities that must happen every week to make those targets inevitable. Put those specific activities on your Scorecard and assign clear ownership to them.