Metric Selection

The most common mistake in board reporting is including too many metrics. A board that sees 30 metrics processes none of them deeply. A board that sees 7 metrics processes all of them. Metric selection is a curation exercise — the goal is to present the minimum set that fully describes the state of the business. Each metric should answer a question that the board would otherwise have to ask.

Core Board Metrics (7):
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Metric              Answers                  Cadence
──────────────────────────────────────────────────
ARR                 How big are we?          Monthly
Net New ARR         Are we growing?          Monthly
Gross Margin        Is the model working?    Monthly
Net Retention       Is the base growing?     Quarterly
CAC Payback         Is growth efficient?     Quarterly
Burn Rate           How fast are we spending? Monthly
Cash Runway         How long can we last?    Monthly
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Supplementary Metrics (rotate quarterly):
  Sales efficiency, pipeline coverage,
  headcount vs. plan, NPS/CSAT, churn rate

7 metrics that tell the whole story.
Everything else is supporting evidence.