Instead of a top down approach using traditional choices for KPI’s, I have found a bottom up approach by examining the expectations of my customers to be a successful way to establish relevant KPi’s. Most sophisticated customers today have created their own scorecards based on the outcomes that they believe are necessary to achieve the goals for their particular businesses or industry.

I'm going to give you an answer you probably won't like. KPI's, on their own, will never drive the behavior you want. To get accountability, you can't just post a number on a board and expect people to perform to it, you have to build the culture of accountability and understanding of the goals of the business. People will do all sorts of creative things to "make the numbers " given no other guidance, and that guidance is really your key to accountability.

Great topic and strong information; Thank you! Customer centric KPI's are vital in today's business, However, in my experience, firms tend to migrate away from self evaluation and building from the inside out when establishing KPIs. Core or business centric KPIs can be vital for new to established businesses especially in the hyper-changing environment we see today. An essential part of smart measurement is establishing KPI metrics against which the business's progress can be tracked. These must correlate with goals, targets and regulations if the resulting information is to be of value. Sometimes in business we tend to look at our clients first. A strong evaluation process and core built on basic business fundamentals is a vital component. My "can't see the forest for the trees" moment....