Performance Measurement Strategies for Success

I wish someone taught me this in my first year as a PM. It would’ve saved years of chasing the wrong goals and wasting my team's time: "Choosing the right metric is more important than choosing the right feature." Here are 4 metrics mistakes even billion-dollar companies have made and what to do instead with Ron Kohavi: 1. Vanity Metrics They look good. Until they don’t. A social platform he worked with kept showing rising page views… While revenue quietly declined. The dashboard looked great. The business? Not so much. Always track active usage tied to user value, not surface-level vanity. 2. Insensitive Metrics They move too slowly to be useful. At Microsoft, Ronny Kohavi’s team tried using LTV in experiments. but saw zero significant movement for over 9 months. The problem is you can’t build momentum on data that’s stuck in the future. So, use proxy metrics that respond faster but still reflect long-term value. 3. Lagging Indicators They confirm success after it’s too late to act. At a subscription company, churn finally spiked… but by then, 30% of impacted users were already gone. Great for storytelling but let's be honest, it's useless for decision-making. You can solve it by pairing lagging indicators with predictive signals. (Things you can act on now.) 4. Misaligned Incentives They push teams in the wrong direction. One media outlet optimized for clicks and everything was looking good until it wasn't. They watched their trust drop as clickbait headlines took over. The metric had worked. They might had "more MRR". But the product suffered in the long run. It's cliche but use metrics that align user value with business success. Because Here's The Real Cost of Bad Metrics - 80% of team energy wasted optimizing what doesn’t matter - Companies with mature metrics see 3–4× stronger alignment between experiments and outcomes - High-performing teams run more tests but measure fewer, better things Before you trust any metric, ask: - Can it detect meaningful change in faster? - Does it map to real user or business value? - Is it sensitive enough for experimentation? - Can my team interpret and act on it? - Does it balance short-term momentum and long-term goals? If the answer is no, it’s not a metric worth using. — If you liked this, you’ll love the deep dive: https://lnkd.in/ea8sWSsS

Let's talk about test-and-learn cultures. Most marketing teams don't have one. Instead, they rely on last year's playbook, gut feelings, and flawed attribution models. ...which leads to a lot of wasted ad spend. Here's how to start building that test-and-learn culture. 1. Measure the right KPIs. Ignore the in-platform vanity metrics (ROAS, CPA, Clicks). Instead, focus on: - Incrementality - True CAC - P&L metrics (Revenue, Profit, New Customers) 2. Run experiments that matter. ...not just testing for testing's sake. - Turn off entire channels in test markets - Measure TOTAL revenue impact - Calculate incremental lift - Split testing owned/1P channels 3. Have a plan. Random tests are useless. Know: - What you're testing - Why you're testing it - What you'll do with the results Pro tip: Test big things first. Micro-optimizations are a waste of time. 4. Make it routine. - Quarterly: Big channel tests - Monthly: Major tactical shifts - Weekly: Performance checks The process will become easier over time. 5. Communicate results like a human. - Use less marketing jargon. - Use simple charts. Focus on: - Revenue impact - Profit contribution - Customer growth Your CFO will thank you. 6. Embrace failure If your tests aren't failing, you're not swinging hard enough. Create a culture where it's safe to take risks and be wrong. Building this culture is tough. It requires admitting you don't know everything. It means challenging assumptions. It's uncomfortable. But it's more uncomfortable to watch your business tank in Q4 because you didn't challenge the norm. If you need help figuring out where to start or want to chat through your current measurement plan, drop me a DM. #incrementality #marketing #measurement

🎵 I'm in a metrics frame of mind... 🎶 My two favorite "HR" metrics, and why they should be yours too. (Spoiler: they’re not just for Finance anymore.) Let's start here: 1. Do you know how your business makes money? 2. Do you know how it keeps it? You’d be surprised how often HR leaders don't know those answers, or haven’t been invited into that conversation. But that’s changing. Fast. More and more CPOs are stepping up as business leaders first, and that means mastering the metrics that matter most to growth and margin. Let’s unpack two of my favorites: 📊 1. Revenue per Employee What it is: A measure of how productively your company converts people power into top-line performance. Think of it as your talent ROI. How to measure it: Total Revenue ÷ Total FTE Headcount Segment by function (GTM, R&D, etc.) for sharper insights 🎯 Target: Varies by company type and stage, but a healthy range for a SaaS or tech org might be $250K–$500K per employee. The trend line matters most: Up = more efficient growth. 🔥 Why it matters: Ties talent investment to growth. Spotlights productivity gaps by team. Gives HR a seat at the performance table. This is your entry point into talking about headcount the way your CFO does. 💵 2. Profitability per Employee What it is: It shows how efficiently the business converts employee output into actual profit, not just revenue. A high revenue per employee with low profit may signal bloated costs, misaligned org design, or underperforming functions. This metric helps HR leaders see where org design and talent strategy impact the bottom line, not just top-line growth. 📏 How to measure it: Net Profit ÷ Total FTE Headcount (And yes, you should segment this one too.) 🎯 Target: Early stage or high-growth companies may be lower (or negative), but mature orgs should aim for $50K–$150K per employee. The goal: move this number up, sustainably. 🔥 Why it matters: Connects org design to operating leverage. Makes people ops a driver of profit, not just cost. Encourages smarter decisions around automation, role clarity, and performance. It rounds out a People Ops dashboard by bringing margin into the People strategy conversation, not just productivity or engagement. It invites HR to ask smarter, more strategic questions: 1. Are we staffed in the right places? 2. Where do we need fewer people with better tools? 3. Where does performance need to improve to protect margin? It turns HR into a profit co-pilot, not just a people partner. Translation: Growth is great. But profit funds the future. When HR tracks these two metrics, and learns to tell the story behind them, we stop being a “support function” and start being a force multiplier. People strategy becomes revenue strategy. Org design becomes profit strategy. And HR becomes the business language no one can ignore since we can now grab a chair, rock up to the table and ask for the P&L!

I made a surprising discovery after coaching 47 teams in OKRs And almost every team gets it wrong. Here's the truth: Succeeding with OKR has zero to do with: • The most ambitious moonshot goals. • The most inspirational Objective • The perfectly-written Key Results • Automating your data collection It all comes down to one single thing: 𝗖𝗵𝗲𝗰𝗸-𝗶𝗻 𝗳𝗿𝗲𝗾𝘂𝗲𝗻𝗰𝘆. Here's what I learned the hard way: • Weekly check-ins = OKR success • Bi-weekly check-ins = Mixed results • Monthly check-ins or less frequently = Almost guaranteed failure But here's the game-changing insight I owe to Christina Wodtke: • Stop measuring progress. • Start measuring 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗳𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲. The single most important question in every check-in should be: "How confident are we that our current strategy is still helping us achieve our Key Results?" This simple shift transforms OKRs from a project management tool Into an engine that turbocharges your strategy execution. Low confidence? Could be an early warning signal to pivot. High confidence? Double down on what's working. 🔑 The secret: Run regular 15-minute weekly confidence check-ins instead of hour-long progress meetings and you'll see real traction. Want to transform how your team uses OKRs? Reply "✅" if you'd like my exact OKR check-in template [Follow me for more simple strategy frameworks and insights that drive results]

A recent review of our portfolio pointed to a strong indicator of performance: quality of investor updates   The companies with better the investor updates (insight, regularity and analytics) on average performed better after we invested   So what is driving the quality of these investor updates and why is it correlated with business performance?   1 - Founders think like investors when they're not fundraising   It’s easy to get stuck in the weeds as the CEO of a startup — fundraising is often a chance to be pulled up to 30k feet and view your business from an outsider’s perspective   A founder who is able to carve out time beyond growing and firefighting to consider this perspective will fare better in the next fundraise and eventually at the time of exit   Investor updates and board meetings are a great chance to revisit that lens   2 - Founders understand the quantitative drivers of their business   Many founders pull up in fundraising and present a set of metrics to prove their traction The best performing founders manage their business to these metrics every day   My fav example: many CEOs only look at cohort analysis when they are presenting to investors in fundraising, and look at Shopify’s simple repeat purchase metrics the rest of the time   They don’t internalize why cohorts are so important, they just pull together the analysis that investors ask for   To do this analysis quarterly (or more) for investor updates requires a level of conviction and understanding that these metrics ultimately drive value   That conviction and understanding typically leads to better performance   3 - Founders want to be held accountable to performance   It’s fun to share wins and get responses back that say “LFG, crushing it!” But without context and KPIs these updates are generally hype and fluff   Our best performing companies have a culture of accountability to their budget and benchmarks   They want the scoreboard on display at all times, even on the bad days, because that is motivation and context for the pursuit to the top of the mountain   The best performing CEOs are not afraid of showing weakness and sharing setbacks, and as a result the investors have much greater trust in their updates on how the business is performing   4 - Founders care about their investors   Creating great investor updates and board materials is a TON of work (I know this from our own quarterly updates and LPAC decks)   Committing the time to do this consistently requires a real care for your investor base I’ve found the most successful founders go the extra mile for their investors because they recognize the importance of relationships are great at building them   These are the kind of people that other people root for, bet on and want on their team The same kind of people who thrive come fundraising, hiring, business development and acquisition time

If you're building a data career, mastering the art of measurement planning can be one of the most effective ways to differentiate yourself from your peers. Companies need people who are thinking about this every time they launch a new initiative. If you can develop strong skills here, it can be your ticket to getting involved earlier on, in more projects, and to becoming seen as a true strategic partner in your organization. Here's what you should focus on... 1. Think Business First -> Resist the urge to dive straight into the data. -> Understand how critical this project is to the business. -> Ask what the key goals for the initiative are. -> What are the most important questions you'll answer? 2. Know Your Audience -> Who is driving the project? Is this the primary audience? -> What are the goals and incentives of key stakeholders? -> What data can you provide that will help them? -> What types of info may inspire them to take action? 3. Define the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) -> For the goals identified, translate them to metrics -> Prioritize metrics based on importance to stakeholders -> Go a layer deeper, and think about KPI driving levers -> How do you picture optimizing the businesses KPIs? 4. Identify the Data Sources You'll Need -> Where will you get each data point you need? -> Who owns or manages each existing data source? -> Are the data sources available real-time? -> Are there gaps in existing data? How do you fill them? -> How can you automate or streamline reporting? If you can follow this framework, you should be able to break down any project and build a measurement plan that will help your organization identify goals, understand outcomes, and optimize performance to drive the business to new heights. We've got a free guide that goes deeper on this, called 'How to Build a Measurement' plan. CHECK IT OUT: --> https://bit.ly/3eaXGmq @ Data Pros - what else would you add here? #data #analytics #businessintelligence #measurement #planningforsuccess

Are you leading your employees around with blindfolds on? This is the third post in my ten-week series on the aspects of toxic leadership. Each week, I’m breaking down a different leadership failure that quietly destroys morale, trust, and results. And I'm showing you how to counter them. One of the common results of toxic leadership is the lack of real performance and process management. Without it, an organization drifts. There are: - No clear metrics that tell people what success looks like. - No consistent processes to guide how work gets done. Knowledge lives in people’s heads instead of structured systems, turning critical information into tribal secrets (i.e., hidden factories). What happens? Systems become overloaded with random, disorganized data. Reports get generated because they always have been, not because they provide meaningful insight. Process variation runs unchecked across departments, producing wildly inconsistent outcomes. People keep busy, but no one knows if they’re actually improving or just maintaining the status quo. Over time, this chaos breeds frustration, confusion, and low morale. It's a result of toxic leadership, where leaders rely on gut feel, protect their silos, and resist accountability because there’s no real data to challenge them. Experiencing this? Here’s how to break the pattern and build a culture of performance and process excellence: 1. Define and communicate key metrics. Identify the handful of performance measures that matter the most to your operarion -- ones that you can affect. Make sure every team member knows how their work impacts these metrics and review them daily or weekly. 2. Map, standardize, and improve all processes. Document the essential steps for all activities so people don't rely on memory or informal handoffs. Use simple flowcharts or checklists to keep it practical. Continually improve. 3. Clean up your information systems. Remove outdated or irrelevant reports. Build dashboards that show only what is needed to run the business and support decisions, not to tick boxes. 4. Audit and control process variation. Periodically check how everyone performs the same work. When you find variation, work together to determine the best method eliminate it immediately. 5. Use data to lead, not punish. Review performance data with team members, not just behind closed doors. Ask them what the numbers mean, what obstacles they face, what they can do about it, and how you can help. Turn metrics into regular coaching conversations, not once-a-year reviews. These five steps not only protect against toxic leadership, they create an environment where people can do their best work with clarity and confidence. What’s the first process you need to start working on this month? ….. Follow me if you enjoy discussing business and success daily. Click on the double notification bell 🔔 to be informed when I post. #betheeagle

When visionary CEOs talk to marketing, they’re not just looking for creative campaigns. They want a line to be clearly drawn to strategic impact. Numbers, data, reports, dashboards, and results. In return, marketing needs to drive growth, prove value, and stay aligned with business outcomes. Here’s how to answer the questions they care about most: 1. What’s working, and how do you know? → We track via CRM and dashboard reporting, adjusting to stay on MQL and SQL goals. 2. How is marketing contributing to revenue? → We have closed-loop reporting across marketing and sales. Campaign X contributed X revenue. 3. Are we set up to scale? → Yes, we have automated, repeatable campaigns deployed across sales, marketing, and service. 4. Do we have a clear marketing strategy? → Yes, it’s mapped with tactics and tied to quarterly and annual revenue goals. It is reviewed weekly/ monthly. 5. Are we focused on the right markets? → We prioritized based on historical performance data of the best-converting market segments for growth. 6. Are sales and marketing aligned? → We have shared goals, weekly syncs, and joint pipeline ownership. 7. How do we define success? → We have SMART goals for leads, pipeline opportunities, and closed-won. Growth follows when marketing and leadership speak the same language. What other measurements matter? ___________________________________________ ♻️ Share to help others 📌 Learn more at https://lnkd.in/ebxS5DBP + Follow Jennelle McGrath for more like this

Did You Set Sales Goals... Only to Measure the Wrong Behaviors? The problem isn’t that your team isn’t hitting the numbers. It’s that the number isn’t driving the right behaviors. Too many sales teams look successful on paper. While quietly missing opportunities that matters... Here's why: What you measure becomes your culture. And if your sales goals reward the wrong actions, you don’t get performance. You get theater... Here’s how to fix the system and make sure your sales goals actually produce sales success: 1. When Setting Daily Targets ↳ Instead of “Make 30 calls a day.” ↳ Say “Book 3 quality meetings with key decision-makers.” 2. When Reviewing Pipeline ↳ Instead of “How many proposals did you send?” ↳ Say “Which deals are most likely to close this quarter and why?” 3. When Recognizing Top Performers ↳ Instead of “Who wrote the most proposal?” ↳ Say “Who created the most revenue-impacting conversations?” 4. When Coaching Struggling Reps ↳ Instead of “Just increase your activity.” ↳ Say “Let’s analyze what activity leads to your best conversions.” 5. When Measuring Progress ↳ Instead of “Did we hit our sales target?” ↳ Say “Did we build sustainable momentum toward our long-term growth?” 6. When Designing Dashboards ↳ Instead of “Track everything.” ↳ Say “Let’s highlight the KPIs that actually drive results.” 7. When Motivating the Team ↳ Instead of “Hit your number or else.” ↳ Say “Let's see where the system is broken down so we can fix it.” 8. When Creating Incentives ↳ Instead of “Pay for activity.” (Mindless contests) ↳ Say “Reward the outcomes we want to replicate.” 9. When Holding Managers Accountable ↳ Instead of “Track rep productivity.” ↳ Say “Coach reps to improve performance quality.” 10. When Building Sales Culture ↳ Instead of “Busy is good.” ↳ Say “Effective is everything.” ✅ Good leaders set clear goals. ✅ Great leaders set the right goals. ✅ Elite leaders align every number with meaningful results. So ask yourself: Are you building a sales culture that rewards movement… Or one that rewards mastery? Because if you're measuring noise, don’t be surprised when you don’t get music and that's my two cents... "Lead Different. Sell Smarter. Win with Purpose." --- ♻️ Share this post with a sales leader who needs to hear it. Follow me for more strategies to grow your team and results and drop me a comment about how you manage this process... 👇 👉 Click here: Follow me on LinkedIn: https://lnkd.in/eA7csH2q Join our community of 35,640+ sales professionals today! 👉 Click here: Beyond The Funnel Newsletter https://lnkd.in/ed3iMb8x P.S. Thanks for reading!

If someone asks, “How should we measure the success of this program?” Your answer should be: -> 1) What’s our goal? and 2) What kind of time/resources can we put into this? Begin with a business-level goal. Then, work your way down the Kirkpatrick model (Level 4 to Level 1). Here’s an example for an emerging leader program. 🟣 Level 0: Set your business-level goal. This is budget agnostic. Example: I want to promote at least 20 emerging leaders who graduate from my program by the end of next year. 🔵 Level 4: Business Impact Example: Measure the number of positions you successfully filled. Also, measure leadership readiness before and after using a 360 assessment and manager interview. Goal: To fill those 20 slots. To show preparedness to lead for more than 20. 🟢 Level 3: Behavior Change Example: In-depth self-assessment of critical behaviors (before and after the program). Have managers evaluate all the same items. Goal: To show you’re changing critical behaviors that make your emerging leaders promotable. 🟡 Level 2: Learning Retention Example: Create a digital badge awarded for 80% completion of all learning, exercises, and activities. Goal: To ensure enough learning and practice is happening to change behavior. 🔴 Level 1: Learner Reaction: Example: Measure participant net promoter score (NPS) and collect evaluations on program content and activities. Goal: To get feedback you can use to improve your content and delivery. *** The whole “measurement thing” gets much easier when you begin with the end. Start with your goals. Then lay out your metrics. #leadershipdevelopment P.S. You can use this diagram as a template for any program. Just: 1/ Fill in Level 0. 2/ Fill in your goals for each level of measurement. 3/ Find the option that suits your budget & resources. P.P.S - I just used the mid-budget, mid-resources examples in this text post. For examples of “low” and “high” budget/commitment, see the full diagram.