The Scoreboard Audit

Twelve questions about where you actually stand. Check the box wherever the answer is yes.

There's no score to plot here. Each item below either happened or it hasn't happened yet. A mostly checked list means the system is already spending on you, you can see the game, and the game isn't running up a bill you can't pay. The empty boxes are your next instructions, because each one may be something you never knew to ask.

The people around you

Do you have a sponsor, someone with real power who speaks up for you in conversations you're not part of?

Is there someone who has worked with you for years and will tell you the plain truth about how you're showing up?

What the company has spent on you

Have you told your boss what you want next, whether that's moving up or staying put?

The last time your responsibilities grew, did your pay, title, authority, or resources grow too?

Whether the work is seen

In the last year, has your work changed an actual decision, budget, priority, process, or behavior?

When your work is praised, are you the one who gets the credit?

Whether you can see the game

When the last promotion near you was announced, had you already seen it coming?

Do you know what happened to the last person who told leadership something it didn't want to hear?

The moves you've made

The last time you pitched something that mattered, had you already talked one-on-one with any of the people who would decide?

Have you disagreed with your boss and still been trusted with important work afterward?

What the game is costing you

Is recovery built into your week on purpose: a remote day, a quiet Saturday, a drive home with the music off?

Can you get through a workday without performing a version of yourself built for the audience?

Counting the empty boxes? The twenty chapters of Hacking the Scoreboard explain what each unchecked box means and what to do about it. The eBook is out now: get it on Amazon. The hardcover follows; leave your email and you'll get one message when it ships.

READ THE PROLOGUE