A Ventana Research survey conducted early this year found an array of alarming statistics related to companies' metrics and internal reporting on organizational performance relative to them. Of the 49 percent of respondents who work in finance and 20 percent who work in line-of-business jobs, only half said they receive enough information on leading indicators of their company's health. Just 19 percent are pleased with their organization's understanding of competitors' performance.

Many lack data on the most basic measures. Twenty-three percent receive too little information about the company's overall financial health, and 35 percent feel uninformed about the performance of enterprisewide operations. Twenty-six percent want to know more about the finances of their business unit, and 33 percent want a better understanding of their division's operations. And 47 percent said the company provides them with too little data even on their own individual performance.