Your Strategic Dashboard

Very often the leadership teams I work with are suffering from “data overload.” They have so many detailed numbers that they lose track of the most important key performance indicators that drive success in their business.

While there are many options, my favorite tool to remedy this situation is a strategic dashboard. The one I favor is a permutation taught me by Stephen Haines in his Systems Thinking approach to strategic planning.

The goal for the dashboard is to have ten or fewer key metrics that keep your team focused on your strategy and engaged in its execution. Here’s my template:

·         Financial performance

·         Operational efficiency

·         Customer satisfaction

·         Employee satisfaction

·         Performance vs. competitors

·         Contribution to society

·         Current strategic priority #1

·         Current strategic priority #2

·         Current strategic priority #3

Leaders sometimes roll their eyes at the “contribution to society” metric because they fear it might be some kind of tangential fluff. This is not at all the case. You want team members who are both competent and caring. This means that they are good at what they do and passionate about making a positive contribution to something bigger than themselves, i.e., the greater good.

If your team doesn’t demonstrate both these qualities, then you don’t have the A Players you need to fully utilize the dashboard and achieve your strategic vision. 

Don’t be a stranger. (770) 993-1129. tdockery@TheResolveFirm.com