Our leadership team has a habit of constantly raising or lowering our weekly Scorecard targets based on the previous week's performance. This constant moving of the goalposts is causing our managers to lose trust in the system. How do we set stable, long-term weekly targets that reflect true operational health without letting them become stagnant?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

Constantly shifting your weekly Scorecard targets to match recent performance is a recipe for operational chaos. When you move the goalposts every time you have a bad week, you mask underlying issues and destroy the team's sense of accountability. Targets must be stable reference points that reflect what is actually required to achieve your high-level business goals. To break this habit, establish a rule that Scorecard targets are locked in at the beginning of each quarter during your quarterly planning session. These targets should be mathematically derived from your 1-Year Plan and your V/TO®. If your annual plan requires one million dollars in sales, calculate the exact weekly sales activities needed to hit that goal and keep that target fixed. If a metric goes red for three weeks in a row, do not lower the target to make the team feel better. Instead, treat it as an issue. Drop it down to the Issues list in your Level 10 Meeting™ and use the IDS® process to find the root cause of the underperformance. The only time you should adjust a target mid-quarter is if there is a massive, systemic shift in your business model or capacity. Otherwise, keep the standard high and focus on fixing the operations to meet the target, not the other way around.