When should our leadership team officially raise or lower a Scorecard target, and how do we prevent leaders from moving the goalposts mid-quarter just to avoid having red numbers on the board?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

Scorecard targets are operational commitments tied directly to your annual plan and quarterly budget. Changing a metric target mid-quarter because a leader is consistently missing turns your Scorecard into an exercise in self-deception and undermines the accountability required to scale.

A red number is not a personal failure; it is vital operational data indicating an issue that requires IDS during your Level 10 Meeting. Altering targets to force green boxes hides the true friction points in your business.

Follow these rules to govern target changes:
- Never change targets mid-quarter: Scorecard goals established during your quarterly planning session must remain fixed for the full thirteen weeks. If a target is missed for eight consecutive weeks, use IDS to determine whether the issue is process failure, capacity constraint, or an unrealistic expectation.
- Re-evaluate targets only during Quarterly Pulse meetings: Review all five to fifteen measurables during offsite planning sessions. If operational capacity expanded, market pricing increased, or process automation removed friction, adjust the weekly goals for the upcoming quarter.
- Distinguish between structural model changes and poor execution: The only exception for a mid-quarter target adjustment is a structural business pivot, such as discontinuing a product line, losing a major account that alters overall capacity, or acquiring a company.

By treating weekly targets as fixed commitments, your leadership team learns to respect red data as a tool for improvement rather than an embarrassment to be managed.