THE LIFESTYLE ENTREPRENEUR

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The Personal Scorecard

Scorecards, also known as KPIs, metrics, and dashboards, are essential tools in business.

Used effectively they give you an instant view of how your business is performing, with clear indication of areas that need attention.

If they’re so effective for business, why wouldn’t we use them for our personal lives?

They seem so obvious, yet most people don’t use them personally.

I know I didn’t until recently. I’ve had at least one weekly scorecard for my businesses since 2014, but didn’t start using a personal scorecard until a few years ago.

The results reflect the state of my life pretty closely.

Before using scorecards and measurables in my personal life - I was always pushing a business forward but mostly having life happen to me, and always feeling behind in multiple areas.

After using scorecards and measurables - Pushing business forward, and also pushing all aspects of life forward.

There are multiple other factors that have pushed me towards a life by design, as opposed to a life by default. But the scorecard is a primary tool in that direction.

What makes a great scorecard and how can I use it in my personal life? I’ll explain briefly today, let’s dig in:

The Scorecard

The Weekly Scorecard is a foundational tool of the Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS®) that I implement with entrepreneurial teams.

It’s a simple tool - using 5-15 weekly numbers that give teams a pulse on their business, and the ability to predict what’s going to happen in your business.

The concept is simple - you’re on vacation with no internet, and the cabana boy brings you a 1 page printout with numbers related to your business - if that one-pager gives you a clear idea of how your business is performing, then it’s an effective scorecard.

The scorecard is perfected over time, where numbers are added and removed until teams are satisfied they have a comprehensive but simple set of numbers that give them an absolute pulse on their business.

Here’s the fundamentals of an effective scorecard:

• 5-15 numbers - less is more

• Leading indicators are best - e.g. Revenue is a result of many activities, and thus a lagging indicator. A more leading sales metric is sales calls, or prospect inquiries.

• Weekly review - Daily is too frequent to allow for focus into our work, monthly is too infrequent to stay on top of things

• There’s a goal for each measurable

• Someone is accountable for each measurable

• 13 weeks at a glance

• If the goal is not hit - you make it an issue to discuss and solve

If you’re not using scorecard in your business, please do so now.

Making it personal

Scorecards have a profound effect on businesses. They create accountability, transparency, and clarity within an organization.

They also drive results.

If they work so well for businesses, then why wouldn’t we use them in our personal lives?

Put simply, they do.

I’ve been using a personal scorecard for a few years now, and the results have been equally as profound as when I started using them with my businesses.

It’s pretty simple to do, and just like in your business, is an iterative process that takes awhile to refine.

Here’s my process:

1. Conduct annual planning and update my personal Vision/Traction Organizer (VTO)

2. Establish my Quarterly Rocks

3. Update my scorecard based on Quarterly Rocks

4. Track Scorecard each Monday

5. Share it with my Practice Manager in our weekly Level 10 Meeting

This process is very simple and I usually add or take out 1-2 measurables each quarter based on my rocks. Everything else is the same each quarter.

Click here to read my planning process along with my actual annual plan.

Having a plan makes the scorecard possible, and meaningful. Without a plan, you don’t have a direction you’re going and can’t reliably measure any progress.

So that’s the first step.

Then align your 5-15 numbers to that plan.

Here’s some examples:

• Trying to lose weight? While your weight is an important metric, it’s a lagging indicator. A leading indicator of weight would be grams of protein eaten, or grams of sugar eaten.

• Trying to get fitter? Your 5K time or 5-rep max back squat are key measurables but are lagging, a more leading measurable would be number of runs completed or lifting sessions completed in the week.

• Trying to have a better relationship with your kids? A good simple measurable is 1:1 uninterrupted time with them each week.

Pretty simple right?

Most don’t start because they don’t know where to start. my answer, start simple.

If you haven’t done any annual or quarterly personal planning, right now do this:

• Pick three things you’re focusing on this quarter or year

• Pick one measurable you can track on a weekly basis that will keep you on track towards those goals

• Measure how you did on those three measurables last week

• Repeat every week for rest of the quarter

Keep it simple.

And the most simple things are the most effective. I hope you have the best weekend ever, it’s in the 60s in Minnesota and I’m going to my son’s dance recital, and then going to an epic dance party with my best friends.

If you do the exercise please reply and let me know one goal and one measurable you’re using, I’d love to hear about them.

Talk to you next week,

Mike

Thanks for reading The Lifestyle Entrepreneur

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Whenever you’re ready, here’s how I can help you:

I’m a Professional EOS® Implementer. That means I work with entrepreneurial leadership teams (typically growth oriented business leaders with 10-250 employees) to develop three things:

• Vision - getting teams 100% on the same page with where the company is going and how to get there

• Traction - Applying discipline and accountability to achieve that vision

• Healthy - Creating healthy, functional, cohesive leadership teams

If you or a business owner you know would like to hear more about EOS®,

Please click here for to schedule a free intro meeting.