Most mid-market companies ($5-100 million in sales) don’t starve for lack of data. Typically they choke on too much data that is not used in running the business.
My suggestion is to choose 6-8 key indicators that assess the health of your business that can be looked at on a weekly basis. These vary widely according to your industry, but may include things like:
- Accounts receivable/payable
- Daily sales by department
- Labour to sales ratios
- Raw product costs
- A sales funnel (which prospects are being worked on currently?)
- Short and long term debt repayment
These numbers raise great questions and lead to critical discussions.
What are your key indicators? Who sees them? How often?
Develop your dashboard and watch the results. You can’t manage a secret.
