Our weekly Scorecard is filled with lagging indicators that only tell us what we did wrong last month, which makes it impossible to take corrective action during our weekly meetings. How do we identify and track leading indicators that actually predict our future performance?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

Most leadership teams stock their weekly Scorecard with lagging indicators because they are easy to measure. Metrics like revenue, net profit, and completed projects only tell you what happened in the past. By the time you review them in your weekly Level 10 Meeting™, it is too late to fix the problems that caused them.

To build a predictive Scorecard, you must identify the leading indicators that drive those lagging results. A leading indicator is an activity that, when performed consistently, guarantees a future outcome. For example, instead of tracking closed deals, track the number of outbound discovery calls made or product demonstrations completed. Instead of tracking customer churn, track customer onboarding completion rates within the first thirty days.

To find your leading indicators, look at your successful outcomes and trace them back to the specific, weekly actions that made them possible. Assign each metric to a single seat on your Accountability Chart with a clear target. When a leading indicator drops below its target, it becomes an immediate issue for your IDS® session, allowing you to course-correct weeks before your revenue or profit is impacted.