The concept of lead measures is also critical. A lead measure, by definition, is one
that has a causal linkage with the strategy. For example, if the number of defective units
decreases, will customer loyalty actually increase? If the number of repeat orders increases,
will revenues and profits actually increase? Assuming a causal relationship exists,
when in reality it does not, can be quite costly. For example, Xerox assumed that
increasing customer satisfaction would lead to increased financial performance. It then
spent millions on surveying and measuring customer satisfaction only to discover that
increasing customer satisfaction did not increase financial performance. As it turned out a customer loyalty measure was the correct lead measure for improving financial performance