We just started our weekly Scorecard, but every department head is trying to add fifteen different numbers, making the sheet overwhelming. How do we narrow our leadership scorecard down to the vital few metrics?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

A scorecard with fifty numbers is not a scorecard; it is an operating report. The purpose of your leadership team Scorecard is to give you a pulse on the health of the business in just five minutes. It should consist of only five to fifteen high-level, weekly activity metrics. To narrow down your Scorecard, look at your business model and ask what weekly activities directly predict your future revenue and operational health. If you are a sales-driven business, do not just track closed revenue. Track outbound calls, scheduled demos, and new proposals sent. These are leading indicators that you can actually influence. Every department head should have their own departmental scorecard that contains their granular metrics. Only the absolute most critical, high-level metrics should bubble up to the leadership team Scorecard. If a metric does not have a direct impact on the health of the entire organization, or if it does not require leadership intervention when it goes red, remove it from the main Scorecard. Keep it simple, keep it forward-looking, and make sure every single number has a single owner who is accountable for hitting the target.