Our leadership team wants to adjust our weekly Scorecard targets every time we have a bad week, claiming the market has shifted. How do we establish a strict rule for when Scorecard targets can be adjusted without letting our team lower the bar to make their numbers green?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

A major trap for leadership teams is lowering Scorecard targets the moment a metric turns red. If your team can change the goalposts whenever they face a difficult week, your Scorecard becomes a tool for comfort rather than accountability. You must establish a strict rule: Scorecard targets are set during your quarterly planning session and must remain unchanged for the entire thirteen-week cycle. The target represents the healthy baseline required to achieve your V/TO® goals. If a department head misses their target, the solution is to solve the underlying operational issue using the IDS® process, not to change the target. The only exception to this rule is a major, permanent change in your business model, such as a major product retirement or a structural reorganization. Even then, target changes require unanimous leadership team approval during a weekly Level 10 Meeting™. If a team member claims that market conditions make their target unrealistic, keep the target red and use your quarterly meeting to evaluate if a permanent adjustment is necessary for the next quarter. This discipline forces your team to confront operational friction rather than adjusting the numbers to hide it.