Growth & metricsOussama Ammar
Choose measures that guide decisions
A useful measure tells you something important enough to change an action.
Survival measures show whether the company can continue. Operating measures show how a process works. Vanity measures mainly create an impression. Distinguish these purposes before building a dashboard.
Revenue and available cash matter to many businesses. Repeat use, retention, conversion, and qualified sales contacts can explain the behavior behind the result. The right combination depends on the model and stage.
Choose a small set that exposes the important constraint. For each measure, ask what you would change if it improved or weakened. If the answer is always unclear, the number may not deserve central attention.
A large collection makes it easy to find something positive while avoiding the main problem. Keep definitions stable and make them understandable to the team. Measurement is useful information, not an improvement by itself.
Read change as well as totals
A cumulative number can continue to rise while recent performance deteriorates. Past activity remains inside the total. Examine what happened during the current period and compare it with a suitable previous period.
Use consistent intervals and definitions. A regular review helps connect results with actions while people still remember what changed. Investigate the difference rather than changing the explanation each time the numbers disappoint you.
Compare the business with its own earlier performance. A competitor’s weak result does not excuse your own problem. A competitor’s strong result does not prove that your next step is wrong.
A benchmark can suggest a question, but it should not become a ceiling. If another company has a certain conversion rate, that does not establish your maximum. Test what better product design, communication, or delivery can change.