The Scoreboard

How would you like watching sports without a scoreboard? No score, no comparison; no one wins, no one loses.

Coaching is not just for sports; and neither is scorekeeping. Once you've established KPIs for your team, it's time to pull out a scoreboard and start watching the game. Get a big whiteboard and write everyone's KPIs on it (owners - you too). Put it somewhere that everyone can see it. Start marking actual performance versus targeted numbers on a daily basis, and watch the game come to life. When you see a discrepancy in the actual vs. targeted numbers, you know where you need to up your game. It's what we call "variance" - and it's the opportunity to modify an aspect of your business to achieve better performance.

When variance is present we need to find out why it's there. If someone is not meeting their targets, have a group huddle to strategize and adjust things accordingly. Keep that KPI up there until your variance is within acceptable levels or is eliminated. If the team is consistently meeting their targets, the KPIs should be re-evaluated. If your goals sit still, so will you and your business.

Have fun watching your business moving forward, but don't forget to let the team celebrate their wins! When someone achieves their KPIs and real growth happens, celebrate! You're winning the game!