As an owner stepping out of the day-to-day, how do I use the weekly Scorecard to know if my leadership team is actually running the business effectively?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

Transitioning to the Owner's Box requires you to stop managing people and start managing the system. Your weekly leadership Scorecard is your remote control for the business. It allows you to monitor operational health and leadership capability without being in the room. To make this transition successful, your leadership Scorecard must be designed to tell a clear, objective story in less than five minutes of review. Look for three specific indicators of leadership effectiveness when you review the weekly data. First, look at the ratio of green to red metrics. If the Scorecard is entirely green for months while cash flow is tight, your team is tracking the wrong numbers or gaming the targets. Second, look at how many red metrics are dropped down to the Issues List. If a metric is red for three weeks in a row without an associated Issue in the Level 10 Meeting™ notes, your leaders are ignoring their targets. Finally, monitor the trend lines of your leading indicators. If you see leading indicators trending down while your lagging indicators are still green, your leadership team must take proactive action. If they do not, it is time to step in and ask tough questions.