They were supposed to clarify. They have become a distraction. In many startups, the piloting systems – OKR quarterly, weekly KPIS, North Star Metrics displayed in large in concept – have taken a disproportionate place. We plan, we align, we score. But during this time, the execution slows down, the arbitrations freeze, and the teams take refuge in the figures to avoid real disagreements. Too much steering kills the impulse. Too much reporting exhausts clarity. It’s time to ask the question: what really is a dashboard for?
An obsession with measure which becomes anxiety
The intention is always healthy: give a course, share transparency, synchronize action. But in practice, the stack of frameworks often produces the opposite effect. Everyone has their indicators, their rituals, their tools. We follow the MRR, the retention, the NPS, the CAC, the J7 activation, the product velocity, the dirty response rate … without always understanding what really matters.
Result: the teams spend more time commenting on the figures than to solve the problems they are supposed to reflect. Management becomes an autonomous management layer, disconnected from the real impact. The rituals are self -mockery, the reflexes are routine, and the action freezes in metrics emptied of their meaning.
False comfort of perfect alignment
The generalization of OKR has strengthened this bias. Each team is supposed to define their “key objectives”, cascad them, assess them. But in fact, this perfect alignment is often artificial. The objectives are either too vague (“improve the user experience”), or too mechanical (“+10 % conversion to the Funnel X”).
We transform the complexity of reality into clean indicators. And we believe we have progressed because everything is marked. But this comfort is misleading. He masks real weak signals, difficult arbitrations, non -modelizable intuitions.
The company becomes controlled by cross paintings, instead of being guided by the field.
Risk: sacrifice audacity to piloting
Too much measure kills instinct. In an uncertain environment, it is sometimes necessary to attempt a non -quantifiable hypothesis. To launch a product without immediate king. To bet on a vision, not on a past correlation.
But in over-piloted organizations, this type of bet becomes almost impossible to defend. Anything that does not fit into the logic of OKR is seen as offset. Everything that is not measurable becomes suspect. The company ceases to explore. It optimizes.
Return to the essentials: some indicators that really light up
This is not the measure that is involved. It is his overload. Good management is based on Few indicators, but very well chosen. A North Star Claire. Two or three product metrics produced. Monthly income follow -up. And above all, an ability to link this data to the real user experience.
The rest is noise.
It is better to follow three indicators in a demanding manner than twenty routinely. It is better to discuss the causes of debating variations. And it is better to correct quickly than to explain a long time.
When piloting becomes a trap
A dashboard does not do the strategy. He accompanies him. Provided you stay in its place.
Too many startups, in search of rigor, fall into the opposite excess: that of hyper-piloting. They lose their energy in the consolidation of metrics, instead of investing it in execution, learning, intuition.
The role of the CEO is not to measure everything. It is to ensure that what matters is seen, understood, and treated. And that the figures never turn off the movement.
Lexicon:
Okr
Definition : Piloting method which consists in defining an ambitious objective and 2-3 key results to measure their involvement.
Example : Objective: Improve the user experience. Key results: (1) Reduce the loading time by 30 %, (2) obtain an NPS> 40, (3) double the retention rate to 30 days.
Kpi
Definition : Key indicator to measure the performance of an activity or a team.
Example : For a marketing team, a KPI can be the cost by qualified Lead (CPL) less than € 50.
North Star Metric
Definition : Single indicator that reflects the value created for the user and which guides all the teams.
Example : At Airbnb, the North Star is “reserved nights”. At Spotify, it is “listening time by active user”.
Mrr
Definition : Recurring monthly income generated by the subscriptions of a product or service.
Example : A SaaS startup with 500 customers each paying 100 € per month has an MRR of € 50,000.
Nps
Definition : Satisfaction score based on a question: “What is the probability that you recommend this product to a friend?” »»
Example : If 70 % answer 9 or 10, 20 % between 7 and 8, and 10 % between 0 and 6, the NPS = 70 – 10 = 60.
Cac
Definition : Average cost to acquire a customer, including ads, content, Sales team, etc.
Example : If you spend € 10,000 to generate 100 new customers, your CAC is € 100.
Activation J7
Definition : Percentage of active users or having carried out a key action 7 days after registration.
Example : Out of 1,000 registered, 250 come back to use the product at D+7 → Activation rate J7 = 25 %.
Product velocity
Definition : Number of features or “story points” delivered by a product/tech team on a sprint or a period.
Example : The product team delivers on average 20 Story points per 2 -week sprint.
Team rituals
Definition : Structuring meetings and routines such as daily stand-ups, weekends, retrospective …
Example : Every Monday, a Growth team starts with a 15-minute stand-up to align the priorities of the week.
Organizational alignment
Definition : Coherence of objectives and actions between the teams of the same organization.
Example : The product team and the marketing team pursue a user activation objective rather than isolated KPIS.
Weak signal
Definition : Index or marginal trend, difficult to measure but potentially revealing a significant change.
Example : An increase in unsubscriptions in a very specific customer segment can point out an emerging product problem.
Dashboard
Definition : Dashboard bringing together key indicators to monitor and analyze the activity.
Example : A marketing dashboard includes the number of leads, the conversion rate, the CAC and the Roas.
