Pssst… we can write an original essay just for you.
Any subject. Any type of essay.
We’ll even meet a 3-hour deadline.
121 writers online
Almost by default, entrepreneurs are quite competitive and they hate losing. Constantly seeking wins, they meticulously measure their success through increased sales volumes, early return on investment, greater customers’ satisfaction, and overall company growth. These important Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) define what success looks like for CEOs.
A strategic vision of where your startup is going is paramount in performance management, but knowing how to get there is equally significant. Leading and lagging indicators are two groups of metrics that can influence or lead us to our primary KPI.
Lagging indicators are the end result, the outcome of our strategy and efforts. They’re easy to measure, they tell us how we are doing as an organization, but, in most instances, they’re hard to directly influence or improve. The aforementioned primary KPIs are most likely to fall into this category.
In order to create opportunities to proactively manage our company success, to notice early warning signs and take actions while there’s still time, a different type of measurement is required. Leading indicators are predictive, in-process metrics, which describe how CEOs see their startups achieve the set goals. These indicators are easier to influence, but harder to measure.
Jim Schleckser, author of the best-selling book “Great CEOs Are Lazy”, makes an interesting comparison of lagging indicators with looking in the rear view mirror in a car.
“They [Lagging indicators] are in the past and you can’t do anything now to change them. Yes, they are an important part of measuring how successful your business is and how far you’ve come. But they won’t help you avoid hitting the potholes still ahead of you.”
Lag indicators are historical; they can only record what has already happened. They’re after-an-event metrics, crucial for charting progress, but useless when attempting to influence future performance.
Are lagging KPIs important? Of course they are. But they only paint part of the picture. Using the same car analogy, you need to keep your eyes on the road in front of you, peering through the windshield. Only the leading indicators will provide you with a reliable roadmap that helps you identify where to go next, instead of just looking back at where you’ve been.
The predictive power of leading indicators can be outright remarkable. By monitoring these metrics you are creating opportunities to take early corrective actions whenever something goes off track. Lead indicators are harder to determine as they’re predictive in nature, and therefore cannot guarantee successful results. This is the reason why most CEOs are mainly focused on tracking the lag indicators, even though a well-defined set of lead metrics can effectively usher their startup to exceptional achievement.
A combination of both lagging and leading indicators is necessary when developing a performance management strategy. Leading KPIs for one department are often lagging KPIs for another. There’s an important cause and effect chain between them. A lag indicator with no lead indicators gives us no indication of how to achieve the result we desire, and a lead indicator with no lag indicator may make us feel good about keeping things busy, but provides no indication that progress is actually occurring.
Understanding this correlation, and how these two groups of indicators work together simultaneously, helps us establish better metrics to track the progress towards our ultimate goals.
Remember: This is just a sample from a fellow student.
100% plagiarism free
Sources and citations are provided
We provide you with original essay samples, perfect formatting and styling
To export a reference to this article please select a referencing style below:
GradesFixer.com uses cookies. By continuing we’ll assume you board with our cookie policy.