We have dozens of critical data points across our company, and our leadership team cannot agree on how to trim the list. How do we narrow our focus to exactly five to fifteen numbers for our company scorecard?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

Trying to track everything means you are tracking nothing. When a leadership team struggles to narrow their scorecard down to five to fifteen numbers, it is usually because they are confusing database key performance indicators with leadership-level drivers. Your company scorecard should only contain the vital signs of the business, not every diagnostic test available.

To trim the list, look at your Accountability Chart. Each major function of the business, from marketing and sales to operations and finance, needs representation. Start by asking each seat owner to identify the single most predictive metric that shows their department is healthy.

Use a simple filter to test each candidate metric. If this number is off track, does it create an immediate issue for another department or the company as a whole within thirty days? If the answer is no, then that metric belongs on a departmental scorecard, not the leadership team scorecard.

Your leadership scorecard must represent the high-level pulse of the business. You do not need to see the daily activity of every employee. You need to see the rolled-up activity that dictates whether your business is moving forward. Keep the list lean. If you cannot run the business on fifteen numbers or fewer, you do not yet understand the true drivers of your operation.