Our industry is experiencing a massive downturn, and our leadership team is consistently missing their scorecard targets. Our team is demoralized by the endless red numbers. How do we handle scorecard targets during a market crisis without lowering our standards?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

When a scorecard is solid red for weeks on end, target fatigue sets in. The team stops caring about the red boxes, accountability crumbles, and the scorecard loses its power.

However, simply lowering your targets to make the team feel better is a trap that hides reality from your leadership team and potential buyers.

To handle this, you must use your Level 10 Meeting™ to separate performance issues from market shifts.

First, run the IDS® process on your targets. Ask yourself if the target was set based on a realistic capacity or if it was an aspirational goal. If the market has structurally shifted, your targets must reflect the new reality. Adjusting a target based on objective market data is not lowering your standards, it is aligning your business with reality.

Second, shift your focus from lagging outcome targets to leading activity targets. While you cannot control whether a client signs a contract during a market slowdown, you can control your outreach activity. Keep your activity targets high and non-negotiable. If your team is hitting their outreach activity targets but the revenue targets are still red, you have a conversion problem or a market pricing problem, not an effort problem.

By adjusting your scorecard to measure what your team can control, you restore their sense of agency and maintain high accountability without demoralizing the organization.