Expensive Spreadsheets
KPIs without strategy aren't metrics. They're expensive spreadsheets.
Dashboard on the screen. Revenue up, margin down, utilisation at 73%, leads at 14.
The numbers are all there. The question nobody quite gets to is what they're actually meant to be pointing at.
It's not a data problem.
It's a direction problem.
A good KPI is answering a question your strategy is already asking. It points you to whether you're moving toward something specific or slipping away from it. When that link isn't there, the dashboard gets updated every month and consulted almost never.
Something worth trying before your next business review: next to each KPI, write down the strategic question it's there to answer. If it's hard to name one, that metric might be ready to retire.
The data is rarely the problem.
The question usually is.
Have you ever kept reporting a number that stopped being useful?
If your dashboard is overdue for that kind of conversation, I'd love to think it through with you. Drop me a message.
