Who This Helps
This is for founder operators who need to turn analysis into approved execution. You track numbers every week, but stakeholders still ask for updates. The Metrics & Dashboards Basics course shows you how to build a weekly scoreboard that makes decisions faster.
Mini Case
Maya runs a small SaaS team. She tracked 20 metrics every week. Stakeholders were confused. She switched to one North Star metric and three supporting metrics. In 7 days, her team cut decision time by 30%. No more noisy updates.
Do This Now (5 Steps)
- Pick your North Star metric. Choose one number that shows real progress. For Maya, it was weekly active users.
- Define three supporting metrics. These explain why the North Star moves. Maya used sign-ups, retention rate, and feature adoption.
- Set realistic targets. Use past data to set a target for each metric. Maya aimed for 12% growth in retention.
- Build a weekly scoreboard. List your metrics and targets in a simple table. Update it every Monday.
- Add guardrails. Set alerts for when a metric drops below 80% of target. Maya got an email when retention dipped.
Avoid These Traps
- Tracking too many metrics. Stick to four or five. More than that creates noise.
- Setting vague targets. Use numbers like "increase retention by 12%" not "improve retention."
- Ignoring guardrails. Without alerts, you miss problems until it's too late.
- Making the dashboard cluttered. Use clear sections: North Star, supporting metrics, and alerts.
- Forgetting to communicate. Share the scoreboard with stakeholders every week. No surprises.
Your Win by Friday
By Friday, you will have a weekly scoreboard with one North Star metric, three supporting metrics, and targets. You will share it with your team. They will see the same numbers you see. Decisions will take minutes, not hours. That's the win.
Fun fact: Your scoreboard will be so clear, even your co-founder will stop asking "what does this mean?" every week.