STOP TRACKING EVERYTHING. MEASURE WHAT ACCELERATES YOUR PATH FORWARD
Written by Jessica Murray
“What gets measured gets managed.”
You’ve probably heard that one before. When operating in “business as usual,” it’s a reliable turn of phrase. But when the ground is shifting, like it has been for many this year, what you choose to measure (and how) becomes even more critical to your business’s agility.
From shifting consumer behavior to tariffs to a shaky economic outlook to rapidly advancing technology, and everything in between, many entrepreneurs are navigating a growing list of unknowns. In that environment, the instinct can be to do more: pull more reports, chase more metrics and monitor everything. But, more doesn’t equal better.
If you’re not measuring what matters for your business, you don’t have the right tools to operate effectively. You’ll instead manage a lot of noise. However, that won’t surface what moves the needle.
🩺 KPIs: Metrics that keep you on the pulse
Key performance indicators (KPIs) are ongoing metrics that should reflect how your business is performing and where it’s headed. They’re critical components to understanding company health, progress and uncovering bottlenecks.
When designed well, KPIs serve these key purposes:
Alignment and visibility: They provide the north star and a tangible way to align your team on company health.
Focus: They ground stakeholders on what matters most at the functional and overall business levels.
Accountability: They assign ownership to key outcomes and provide clear signals for when things go off track.
⚠️ But there are perils
KPIs are great, but they’re only helpful when you establish the right ones. There are many traps you could fall into when establishing performance metrics, so hopefully, highlighting several of them here will help you spot and avoid them early.
Tracking too much: When every data point becomes a KPI, you lose clarity around the signals that matter most.
Vanity metrics: Don’t get sucked in metrics that look good, but don’t drive meaningful outcomes (e.g., # of Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) created vs. SOP adoption or error rates).
Lack of data consistency: Ensure you have quality data readily available to measure KPIs consistently over time. Otherwise, they won’t be reliable sources or provide accurate insight.
No clear ownership: When no person or team is accountable for a KPI, and actively responsible for driving results, it may get ignored, explained away or kicked down the priority list.
🔦 Guiding principles to manage the business with the right indicators
If you find yourself reviewing data dashboards or you’ve identified a need to create one, keep these five principles in mind:
Start at the top: Ensure your KPIs tie to your overarching strategy and core objectives.
Limit the list: Focus on the critical 3-5 metrics per department or business function. Even if you’re a solopreneur, think about your functional areas and establish a few meaningful metrics for each (e.g., sales, marketing, customer satisfaction, service delivery, etc.).
Don’t only lag; also lead: Maintain a balance of lagging (i.e., outcomes) and leading (i.e., inputs that help predict results) indicators. The latter provides you with the opportunity to pivot early if needed. Those leading indicators also increase in importance the longer your sales cycle.
Build in time for review: Metrics do nothing for you if they just sit on a dashboard. Create regular moments to reflect, discuss and make decisions based on what the data is telling you.
Be flexible: As your business evolves, KPIs should too. Don’t be afraid to let something go that’s no longer relevant.
🫥 Ignorance is…not bliss
In any given week, month, quarter or year, measuring what matters is a foundational discipline. In 2025, arming yourself with the right data points will provide an outsized advantage.
Thoughtful, focused KPIs deliver clearer signals. They show you where you’re gaining traction, where risks are emerging and where you may need to adapt the plan.
Whether surfacing a hidden retention issue, uncovering a high-performing marketing channel or spotting a delivery bottleneck, your metrics should help you act with agility, not react with guesswork.
You won’t necessarily win by running harder at more things. You’ll outperform when you have visibility into what’s working, where you’re vulnerable and you take smart action.
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