Stop Measuring the Past and Start Leading the Future
- Beth Torres
- Oct 21
- 4 min read
TL;DR
If you’re only tracking revenue, profit, and retention, you’re driving with your eyes on the rearview mirror. Those are lag measures and while they are important, they are not controllable because they’ve already happened. Lead measures are the forward-looking metrics that drive behavior, execution, and real-time progress. This post breaks down how to design lead measures that move teams from busy to effective, from reactive to results-driven, and from chaos to clarity.
Why Most Metrics Keep You Stuck
You’ve probably done it: crushed your workouts, nailed your nutrition and stepped on the scale to see no change. That number on the scale? It’s a lag measure. It reflects outcomes, not effort.
The same thing happens in business. You can’t control revenue, churn, or profit in the moment. You can only control the actions that create them, and yet, most leadership dashboards are full of lag measures which are rearview metrics that tell you what already happened instead of helping you change what happens next.
You can’t steer your business forward by staring backward.
Lead Measures vs. Lag Measures: The Core Difference
Here’s the breakdown:
Lag Measures (Reactive) | Lead Measures (Proactive) |
Revenue, profit, churn | Client conversations per week |
Project delivery rate | On-time sprint completion |
Customer satisfaction | Number of proactive follow-ups |
Turnover rate | Frequency of one-on-one check-ins |
EBITDA | Number of process improvements executed |
Lag measures tell you what happened.
Lead measures drive what happens next.
If you want a high-performing team, focus on what’s controllable today. Lead measures are not just activity trackers; they’re behavior drivers. The right ones shift energy, focus, and accountability in real time.
The Rearview Mirror Problem
Managing by lag measures is like driving by what’s already passed you. You’re technically moving, but not necessarily in the right direction.
In tech and professional services especially, teams often fall into this trap:
Reporting on sales instead of measuring pipeline health.
Discussing customer satisfaction after renewal instead of tracking engagement touchpoints.
Reviewing delivery performance post-project instead of managing sprint velocity midstream.
By the time the dashboard lights up, it’s too late to course-correct.
Lead Measures: The Engine of Execution
Lead measures are predictive and influenceable. They link daily work to strategic goals.
Examples:
Sales: Number of new discovery meetings or proposal follow-ups.
Delivery: Percentage of issues resolved before escalation.
Leadership: One-on-one coaching sessions completed weekly.
Operations: Time to decision on cross-functional blockers.
When you define, measure, and manage these inputs, you create a feedback loop where actions create outcomes, not the other way around.
The Four Disciplines of Execution (4DX)
At Apexium Growth, we help teams operationalize these ideas through the 4 Disciplines of Execution framework, presented by McChesney, Huling, and Covey. Here’s how it applies to building measurable momentum:
Focus on the Wildly Important Goals (WIGs)
Stop trying to do everything. Clarity beats volume. Choose one or two high-impact goals that truly move the business forward.
Act on the Lead Measures
Empower teams to focus on what they can control every day. It’s not about working harder; it’s about working smarter on the right inputs.
Keep a Compelling Scoreboard
Visibility drives ownership. Make progress measurable, visual, and transparent so teams can see where they’re winning or lagging.
Create a Cadence of Accountability
Weekly check-ins turn strategy into rhythm. The best teams make accountability a habit, not a quarterly event.
Why Most Teams Fail at Execution (and How to Fix It)
Companies set goals, but don’t identify the behaviors that produce them. They track outcomes, but not actions. And when results fall short, they double down on lag measures instead of fixing the root cause.
The fix is simple but powerful: Shift from tracking what happened to managing what’s happening.
Lead Measures Build Trust and Momentum
When you lead through measurable, controllable behaviors, three things happen:
Trust grows - because accountability becomes clear, not personal.
Momentum builds - because small wins stack up into big outcomes.
Performance accelerates - because everyone knows what to focus on next.
This is how operational excellence is built - not through dashboards full of history, but through data that shapes the present.
The Bottom Line: Stop Reacting and Start Leading.
You don’t need more KPIs, you need better ones. Lead measures are your bridge between strategy and execution. They give you the power to steer the business before it veers off course.
At Apexium Growth, we help you design systems that drive consistent results, align teams, and turn strategy into sustainable growth. If you’re ready to stop measuring the past and start leading the future:
→ Learn more about The Apexium Program, our framework for aligning how you sell, deliver, and lead.
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