What Gets Measured, Gets Managed

Have you ever made it to the end of the week, only to look back and realize nothing important got accomplished? With the unpredictable nature of life and business, this happens all the time. The EOS Scorecard™ can help you here, because what gets measured gets managed.

What Does a Scorecard Do?

We teach the EOS Scorecard as one of five EOS Foundational Tools™ early in the journey toward EOS® mastery. The Scorecard provides 5–15 high-level numbers that let you know your business is on track to hit its goals. Every team or department has its own Scorecard, and each employee has at least one measurable.

What Metrics Should You Track?

So what should you measure? The best Scorecard measurables serve as activity-based, leading indicators. If tracked with frequency and consistency, they deliver the results we ultimately want to see on our financial reports. Those results capture the trailing indicators of success.

Measurables should tie directly to seats in The Accountability Chart™. For example, you may have five salespeople with the same measurables. Their individual goals may or may not differ, but the activities you track (e.g., phone calls made) are the same.

Each individual should also directly influence the measurables they own through their actions. For example, say you have a goal to lose 25 pounds this year. Instead of tracking pounds lost each week (a trailing indicator), you would track the activities that will get you there: miles walked/run, calories consumed, etc. You ultimately control the outcome of these measurables each week (hitting the gym vs. hitting the fridge), making you accountable for the results.

Dangers of Trailing Indicators

If you only track financial metrics (trailing indicators), by the time you recognize a problem, it’s too late to fix it. You can do very little to get back on track to hit your long-term goals.

However, by tracking activity-based leading indicators (phone calls, follow-ups, satisfied customers, or employees), you have time to address off-track numbers. When you recognize problems here, you can put them on your Issues List to address right away before they snowball.

Need More Reasons?

Measurables provide clarity for your team (when Followed by All!) and reinforce your core processes. It means both you and your team perfectly align on accountabilities. You know exactly how each team member performs on any given day, even during wildly unpredictable days. What an incredibly powerful tool!

Invest the time in building a Scorecard and creating smart measurables. This way, you and your team know exactly what needs to get done each week to keep important goals on track.