Grow what you measure.
A plain-English library of business KPIs: what each one means, the formula, a worked example, and the pitfalls — for sales, marketing, finance, operations, customers and people. Every guide links to its sources.
Articles
24 articles
What Is a KPI? Metrics, KPIs and OKRs Explained
A plain-English guide to key performance indicators: how they differ from ordinary metrics and OKRs, what makes a good one, and examples from every department.
Read · 6 min read →KPI FundamentalsLeading vs. Lagging Indicators: What They Are and Why You Need Both
Lagging indicators show results after the fact; leading indicators give earlier warning. Learn the difference, see example pairs, and find out why you need both.
Read · 5 min read →KPI FundamentalsHow to Choose KPIs: Goals, Ownership, Data and Review Cadence
A step-by-step approach to picking KPIs that matter: start from goals, keep the list short, assign owners, check your data, and set a review rhythm.
Read · 5 min read →KPI FundamentalsBuilding a KPI Dashboard: Audience, Layout, Charts and Pitfalls
How to design a KPI dashboard people actually use: know your audience, lay it out for a quick glance, pick the right charts, refresh sensibly, and avoid common traps.
Read · 5 min read →KPI FundamentalsGoodhart's Law, Campbell's Law and the Trouble With Vanity Metrics
Why measures stop working once people are rewarded for hitting them, where Goodhart's and Campbell's laws come from, and how to spot vanity metrics and gaming.
Read · 5 min read →KPI FundamentalsSetting KPI Targets and Using Industry Benchmarks With Care
How to set realistic KPI targets from your own baseline, write SMART-style goals, and judge published industry benchmarks with the caution they deserve.
Read · 5 min read →Sales & Marketing KPIsCustomer Acquisition Cost (CAC) and the CAC Payback Period
Learn how to calculate blended and paid customer acquisition cost, and how long it takes a new customer to pay back what you spent to win them.
Read · 5 min read →Sales & Marketing KPIsConversion Rates and Funnel Metrics: Leads, MQLs and SQLs
How to measure visit-to-lead and lead-to-customer conversion, what MQLs and SQLs mean, and why every company draws those lines a little differently.
Read · 5 min read →Sales & Marketing KPIsWin Rate, Average Deal Size and Sales Cycle Length
Three core sales KPIs explained: what share of deals you win, how much each is worth, and how long they take to close, with formulas and pitfalls.
Read · 5 min read →Sales & Marketing KPIsPipeline Coverage Ratio and Sales Velocity Explained
How to check whether your sales pipeline is big enough to hit a target, and how the sales velocity formula shows the revenue your pipeline produces each day.
Read · 5 min read →Sales & Marketing KPIsCustomer Lifetime Value (CLV) and the LTV:CAC Ratio
How to estimate customer lifetime value using simple and margin-based formulas, how to compare it with acquisition cost, and where CLV estimates go wrong.
Read · 5 min read →Sales & Marketing KPIsROAS vs. Marketing ROI vs. MER: How to Measure Marketing Returns
Return on ad spend, marketing ROI and marketing efficiency ratio answer different questions. Learn each formula and why attribution makes them harder to trust.
Read · 5 min read →Finance & Operations KPIsGross, Operating and Net Profit Margin Explained
How to calculate gross, operating and net margin, what each layer of profit tells you, and why markup and margin are not the same number.
Read · 5 min read →Finance & Operations KPIsCash Flow KPIs: Operating Cash Flow, Free Cash Flow and Runway
Learn how operating cash flow, free cash flow, burn rate and runway work, with a simple example and the mistakes that distort them.
Read · 5 min read →Finance & Operations KPIsDSO, DIO, DPO and the Cash Conversion Cycle
How long is your cash tied up? Learn to calculate days sales outstanding, days inventory, days payable and the cash conversion cycle.
Read · 5 min read →Finance & Operations KPIsInventory Turnover and Days Inventory: Balancing Stock
How to calculate inventory turnover and days inventory, read the results, and balance the risk of stockouts against the cost of overstock.
Read · 5 min read →Finance & Operations KPIsMRR, ARR and Recurring Revenue Growth Metrics
A plain-English guide to MRR, ARR, revenue growth rate, and expansion and contraction MRR, with a worked example and common counting mistakes.
Read · 5 min read →Finance & Operations KPIsOperational Efficiency KPIs: On-Time Delivery, Yield and OEE
How to measure on-time delivery, capacity utilization, first-pass yield and overall equipment effectiveness (OEE), with worked examples.
Read · 5 min read →Customer & People KPIsNet Promoter Score (NPS): Formula, Origin and Limits
How Net Promoter Score turns one 0-to-10 recommendation question into a loyalty measure, where it came from, and what its critics say.
Read · 6 min read →Customer & People KPIsCSAT and Customer Effort Score: Measuring Satisfaction and Ease
How to calculate customer satisfaction (CSAT) and Customer Effort Score (CES), where CES came from, and how to avoid common survey mistakes.
Read · 5 min read →Customer & People KPIsChurn and Retention Rate: Customer, Revenue, NRR and GRR
How to calculate customer churn, revenue churn, retention rate, and gross and net revenue retention, with worked examples and common traps.
Read · 5 min read →Customer & People KPIsEmployee Turnover Rate: Separations, Quits and Retention
How to calculate employee turnover, split it into voluntary and involuntary separations using BLS definitions, and measure retention.
Read · 5 min read →Customer & People KPIsEmployee Engagement and eNPS: Measuring How People Feel at Work
How employee engagement surveys and employee Net Promoter Score (eNPS) work, how to calculate them, and how to keep the results honest and useful.
Read · 5 min read →Customer & People KPIsHiring KPIs: Time to Fill, Cost per Hire and Quality of Hire
How to measure time to fill, time to hire, cost per hire under the ANSI/SHRM standard, offer acceptance rate and quality of hire.
Read · 5 min read →Glossary
65 business metrics explained in a sentence or three — from average order value to working capital.