We are a young company with very little historical operational data, making it difficult to know what our baseline performance should be. How do we establish our first five to fifteen weekly Scorecard metrics and targets when we have no past data to guide us?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

Do not let a lack of historical data paralyze your implementation of running on data. The most common mistake is waiting for perfect data before launching your Scorecard. When you are starting fresh, you must accept that your first targets will be educated guesses. The goal is to start measuring activity immediately so you can build the baseline you currently lack.

Begin by looking at your Accountability Chart and identifying the core activities required to keep the business alive. Every seat on your leadership team must own at least one metric. Focus on basic, high-impact activities. For sales, track outbound calls. For marketing, track leads generated. For operations, track service delivery milestones. For finance, track cash on hand.

Once you have selected your first five to fifteen metrics, set a target that feels reasonable based on your current capacity. Run with these targets for one full quarter. Do not change the targets mid-quarter just because you missed them. At the end of thirteen weeks, you will have a clean, objective baseline of historical data. You can then use this actual performance data to refine your targets for the next quarter. The key is to start dirty and clean it up over time, rather than waiting for perfect conditions.