Our current scorecard is packed with lagging financial indicators because our leadership team feels those are the only numbers that truly matter. How do we systematically swap these lagging results for activity-based leading indicators without losing sight of our financial performance?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

It is natural for leadership teams to cling to lagging financial numbers like monthly revenue or net profit because those represent the ultimate scorecard of success. However, relying on lagging numbers is like driving your car by only looking in the rearview mirror. By the time a lagging metric turns red, the damage is already done.

To transition to activity-based numbers, look at your lagging financial metrics and work backward. Ask your leadership team what specific activities must happen every week to produce that financial result.

For example, if you want to ensure consistent monthly revenue, you must have a healthy sales pipeline. To have a healthy sales pipeline, your sales team must send a certain number of proposals. To send those proposals, they must conduct a specific number of discovery meetings. To get those meetings, marketing must generate a set volume of qualified leads.

Your weekly scorecard should track the qualified leads, discovery meetings, and proposals sent. These are your leading indicators. If these activity-based numbers are green, your lagging revenue target will naturally follow.

Keep your lagging financial metrics on a separate monthly report or your quarterly review. Keep your weekly Scorecard strictly focused on the high-impact activities that your team can directly control and adjust on a weekly basis to steer the business forward.