Our weekly Scorecard is filled with backward-looking financial metrics that tell us how we did last month, but we struggle to predict future performance. How do we shift our Scorecard to track leading indicators that drive future growth?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

To build a highly predictive Scorecard, you must transition from lagging indicators to leading indicators. Lagging indicators, such as monthly revenue or closed sales, are historical data. They tell you what has already happened, when it is too late to change the outcome. Leading indicators, on the other hand, measure the daily and weekly activities that directly cause those lagging results. To identify your leading indicators, reverse-engineer your sales and operational funnels. If your goal is to close ten new deals a month, determine what activities must happen to achieve that outcome. It might require fifty discovery calls, twenty five product demonstrations, and fifteen formal proposals. These activity metrics are your leading indicators. By tracking these numbers weekly, you can predict your revenue three months in advance. If discovery calls drop this week, you know your revenue will drop next quarter unless you take immediate corrective action. Assign clear ownership for every single metric on your Scorecard. Each number must be owned by a specific seat on your Accountability Chart. When a number is missed, the owner of that metric must report why and drop it down to the issues list for IDS®. This discipline ensures your team is always looking forward and proactively managing performance.