Chapter 7 – What’s My Number? page 115.
- Imagine yourself playing a sport and you can’t see the scoreboard:
- You don’t know how much time is left.
- The referees won’t tell you when you commit a penalty.
- You don’t know if you’re winning or losing.
- When employees have no idea about how they are doing, it leads to:
- Frustration
- Confusion
- Fear
- Lack of motivation
- Poor performance
- In contrast, imagine a company where:
- Key numbers are being tracked weekly.
- Issues are solved early.
- You know exactly how you are doing.
- Your department knows exactly how it is doing.
- The company knows exactly how it is doing.
- Accountability is high.
- Everyone is hitting their targets.
- What is a Scorecard?
- It contains a handful of numbers (typically 5-15).
- It tells you if you are on track or off track to hit your goals.
- It helps you identify issues early, before they become major disasters.
- Eliminates guesswork, assumptions, emotions, and egos in day-to-day conversations.
Designing the Scorecard
- A typical leadership team scorecard…
- Contain 5-15 activity-based leading indicators, measuring the current activities that will produce future results.
- Is reviewed weekly.
- Must have 4 key columns:
- Who – The person accountable for the number.
- Measurable – Key numbers you are tracking weekly.
- Goal – The number that must be hit every week to reach your quarterly target.
- Date – The week on which you are reporting.
- Must display 13 weeks of data at a glance. Doing this:
- Helps identify patterns and trends.
- Prevents overreaction to one bad week.
- Identifies chronic issues.
- A scorecard requires hard work, discipline, and consistency to manage.
- The leader must take ultimate responsibility for the completion and accuracy of the scorecard.
Everyone Having a Number
- When EOS is fully implemented in your company, each person should have at least one Measurable they are accountable for.
- 8 Reasons every employee should want a Measurable:
- Numbers cut through murky, subjective communication between manager and employee.
- Numbers create clear expectations and accountability.
- Right People appreciate numbers.
- Numbers create clarity and commitment.
- Numbers create competition.
- Numbers produce results (what gets watched gets improved).
- Numbers create teamwork.
- Numbers solve problems faster (solve problems proactively).
Questions to Ask Your Manager
- Does our department Scorecard contain the right numbers and goals?
- Is this a good measurable for me? (Bring 2-3 suggestions)
- What is your measurable, and how do I help you hit it?
