Who This Helps
If you're a founder or operator staring at 20 different charts and still unsure what to do next, this is for you. The Metrics & Dashboards Basics course shows you how to cut the noise and focus on what moves the needle.
Mini Case
Maya's team was tracking everything—page views, sign-ups, feature usage. They had 15 charts but no clarity. She spent 3 hours every Monday just trying to figure out if last week was good or bad. After defining her North Star metric and building a weekly scoreboard, she cut her Monday review to 20 minutes. Her team now knows instantly if they're on track.
Do This Now (5 Steps)
- Pick Your One Thing. What's the single best measure of value you deliver right now? Is it weekly active users? Trial conversions? Write it down.
- Find Its Friends. Choose 2-3 supporting metrics that tell you why your main number moved. For activation, that might be "completed onboarding" and "first key action."
- Set a Simple Target. For this week, what's a realistic, motivating goal for your main metric? Aim for a 5% improvement, not 50%.
- Build Your Scoreboard. Open your dashboard tool (like Google Sheets, Geckoboard, or Mixpanel). Create one big chart for your North Star, and 2-3 small ones for the supporting metrics.
- Schedule a 15-Minute Review. Block Friday at 4 PM. Your only job is to look at the scoreboard and ask: "Did we hit our target? Why or why not?" That's it. You've got this.
Avoid These Traps
- Don't try to track everything. Start with one North Star and 2-3 supporting metrics. More is not better.
- Don't use vague metrics like "engagement." Be specific: "users who posted a comment this week."
- Don't build the perfect dashboard on day one. Use a simple spreadsheet if you have to. The goal is clarity, not art.
- Don't forget to look at it! A dashboard no one checks is just digital wallpaper. Make the review a habit.
Your Win by Friday
By this Friday, you'll have a single screen that tells you the health of your business at a glance. No more digging. No more confusion. You'll know exactly where to focus your team's effort next week. That's the power of a calm, clear scoreboard. Now go make your data work for you, not the other way around.