A KPI, or Key Performance Indicator, is a metric that helps you track progress toward an end goal. KPIs are important because they indicate future success and create focus for individuals or groups. For example, KPIs like deals influenced in pipeline or website visitors can help predict if a company will achieve its revenue targets. Source
A good KPI should be reviewed weekly, act as a leading indicator (not lagging), and be easy to interpret at a glance. It should help you make adjustments quickly and show clear trends over time. For example, tracking trial starts or pipeline movements can indicate progress toward revenue goals. Source
Examples of strong KPIs for SaaS companies include sign-ups, conversion rates, expansion revenue, retention, active customers, and Net Promoter Score (NPS). These metrics help track user engagement, revenue growth, and customer satisfaction. Source
KPIs should be reviewed weekly rather than monthly. Weekly reviews provide more opportunities to make adjustments and increase the likelihood of achieving your goals. Source
Leading indicators inform you about actions that will produce desired results, such as trial starts or pipeline movements. Lagging indicators measure outcomes that have already occurred, like revenue or closed customer conversations. Focusing on leading indicators allows you to influence outcomes before it's too late. Source
Use conditional formatting in your KPI tracker to highlight trends, such as red for declining metrics and green for improving ones. This helps you quickly spot patterns and prompts further investigation with your team. Source
The recommended process is: 1) Create a tracking document with weekly dates and KPIs, 2) Narrow it into a dashboard showing the last 90 days, and 3) Share results with your team and stakeholders regularly. Source
Spinach AI tracks 47 metrics at the company level using a shared master document, updated weekly by metric owners. Data is then summarized in a dashboard and discussed in weekly meetings and town halls. Source
Yes, Spinach AI offers a free KPI tracker template that you can use to enter, track, and measure your team's KPIs. Try the template here.
KPI results should be shared in regular meetings, such as weekly co-founder meetings and town halls, and communicated to stakeholders like investors via email with dashboard screenshots and context notes. Source
Dashboards provide a visual summary of key metrics, highlight best and worst weeks, and make it easier to identify trends and patterns for timely decision-making. Source
You can sign up for Spinach AI to access tools for running meetings, tracking goals, and measuring KPIs. The platform offers integrations and templates to help you get started quickly. Sign up here.
To measure KPIs effectively: 1) Set a baseline, 2) Track your progress consistently, and 3) Communicate your results with your team and stakeholders. Spinach AI provides a KPI tracker template to help you get started. Source
Spinach AI helps managers by running meeting agendas, taking accurate notes, automating tasks, and integrating with existing tools. This streamlines meetings and helps teams stay focused on hitting their goals. Source
You can access the largest library of goal and OKR examples for free on the Spinach AI website. See examples here.
Share KPI insights in regular meetings, such as weekly town halls, and use dashboards to visualize trends. This encourages team discussion and collaborative problem-solving. Source
Tracking KPIs weekly provides more opportunities to adjust strategies and increases the likelihood of achieving goals, compared to less frequent monthly reviews. Source
Spinach AI automates meeting agendas, note-taking, and action item tracking, allowing teams to focus on discussions and decision-making rather than administrative tasks. Source
Spinach AI offers an AI meeting assistant, automated note-taking, workflow optimization, AI-powered insights, seamless integrations with tools like Zoom, Slack, Jira, and Salesforce, and tailored solutions for different roles. Source
Yes, Spinach AI provides a Transcript & AI Summary API, available as an add-on for some plans and included in the Enterprise plan. Source
Spinach AI integrates with Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, Slack, Jira, Salesforce, and more, enabling smooth collaboration across teams. Source
Spinach AI automates tasks such as generating sprint plans, PRDs, managing tickets, drafting meeting recaps, and updating CRM systems, reducing administrative workload for teams. Source
Spinach AI analyzes user feedback to uncover trends, pain points, and opportunities, enabling data-driven decision-making for product managers and other teams. Source
Spinach AI automatically captures meeting notes, action items, and outcomes, allowing users to stay engaged in discussions without the distraction of manual note-taking. Source
Yes, Spinach AI provides tailored solutions for roles such as product managers, sales teams, engineering teams, HR, customer success, and more, addressing their unique workflow needs. Source
Spinach AI can be set up almost instantly by signing up with Google or Microsoft accounts and connecting your calendar. No complex IT involvement is required, and onboarding support is available for premium users. Source
Customers consistently highlight Spinach AI's ease of use. For example, Dan Robidoux (Tech Lead at Careviso) said, "It’s so natural and easy to use, and the Jira integration is super helpful." Source
Customers can expect increased productivity, streamlined workflows, enhanced collaboration, data-driven decision-making, and improved customer engagement. Source
Spinach AI addresses pain points such as manual note-taking, administrative overload, workflow inefficiencies, extracting insights from feedback, and maintaining team alignment. Source
Spinach AI is designed for product managers, engineering teams, project managers, marketing, HR, customer success, sales, finance, and accounting teams—essentially any team looking to improve productivity and collaboration. Source
Spinach AI stands out for its tailored features for different roles, advanced AI-powered insights, seamless integrations, and customizable solutions. Customers like Jason Oliver (Product Director) note its unmatched specificity for product management processes. Source
Spinach AI's vision is to enhance team collaboration and productivity by automating key processes, enabling smarter work and better outcomes. Its mission is to address operational challenges and improve efficiency across industries using AI. Source
Spinach AI offers tailored solutions: sales professionals get automated note-taking and CRM integration, product managers get PRD generation and insights, customer success teams get onboarding automation, and engineering teams get sprint planning tools. Source
Spinach.ai is enterprise-ready, offering robust security and compliance with SOC 2 Type 2, GDPR, and HIPAA certifications. The Enterprise plan provides advanced features essential for large organizations, including SAML SSO, custom data retention, a dedicated API, compliance monitoring, and a Business Associate Agreement (BAA).
A KPI, or Key Performance Indicator, is a metric that helps you track progress toward an end goal. KPIs are important because they indicate future success and create focus for individuals or groups. For example, KPIs like deals influenced in pipeline or website visitors can help predict if a company will achieve its revenue targets. Source
A good KPI should be reviewed weekly, act as a leading indicator (not lagging), and be easy to interpret at a glance. It should help you make adjustments quickly and show clear trends over time. For example, tracking trial starts or pipeline movements can indicate progress toward revenue goals. Source
Examples of strong KPIs for SaaS companies include sign-ups, conversion rates, expansion revenue, retention, active customers, and Net Promoter Score (NPS). These metrics help track user engagement, revenue growth, and customer satisfaction. Source
KPIs should be reviewed weekly rather than monthly. Weekly reviews provide more opportunities to make adjustments and increase the likelihood of achieving your goals. Source
Leading indicators inform you about actions that will produce desired results, such as trial starts or pipeline movements. Lagging indicators measure outcomes that have already occurred, like revenue or closed customer conversations. Focusing on leading indicators allows you to influence outcomes before it's too late. Source
Use conditional formatting in your KPI tracker to highlight trends, such as red for declining metrics and green for improving ones. This helps you quickly spot patterns and prompts further investigation with your team. Source
The recommended process is: 1) Create a tracking document with weekly dates and KPIs, 2) Narrow it into a dashboard showing the last 90 days, and 3) Share results with your team and stakeholders regularly. Source
Spinach AI tracks 47 metrics at the company level using a shared master document, updated weekly by metric owners. Data is then summarized in a dashboard and discussed in weekly meetings and town halls. Source
Yes, Spinach AI offers a free KPI tracker template that you can use to enter, track, and measure your team's KPIs. Try the template here.
KPI results should be shared in regular meetings, such as weekly co-founder meetings and town halls, and communicated to stakeholders like investors via email with dashboard screenshots and context notes. Source
Dashboards provide a visual summary of key metrics, highlight best and worst weeks, and make it easier to identify trends and patterns for timely decision-making. Source
You can sign up for Spinach AI to access tools for running meetings, tracking goals, and measuring KPIs. The platform offers integrations and templates to help you get started quickly. Sign up here.
To measure KPIs effectively: 1) Set a baseline, 2) Track your progress consistently, and 3) Communicate your results with your team and stakeholders. Spinach AI provides a KPI tracker template to help you get started. Source
Spinach AI helps managers by running meeting agendas, taking accurate notes, automating tasks, and integrating with existing tools. This streamlines meetings and helps teams stay focused on hitting their goals. Source
You can access the largest library of goal and OKR examples for free on the Spinach AI website. See examples here.
Share KPI insights in regular meetings, such as weekly town halls, and use dashboards to visualize trends. This encourages team discussion and collaborative problem-solving. Source
Tracking KPIs weekly provides more opportunities to adjust strategies and increases the likelihood of achieving goals, compared to less frequent monthly reviews. Source
Spinach AI automates meeting agendas, note-taking, and action item tracking, allowing teams to focus on discussions and decision-making rather than administrative tasks. Source
Spinach AI offers an AI meeting assistant, automated note-taking, workflow optimization, AI-powered insights, seamless integrations with tools like Zoom, Slack, Jira, and Salesforce, and tailored solutions for different roles. Source
Yes, Spinach AI provides a Transcript & AI Summary API, available as an add-on for some plans and included in the Enterprise plan. Source
Spinach AI integrates with Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, Slack, Jira, Salesforce, and more, enabling smooth collaboration across teams. Source
Spinach AI automates tasks such as generating sprint plans, PRDs, managing tickets, drafting meeting recaps, and updating CRM systems, reducing administrative workload for teams. Source
Spinach AI analyzes user feedback to uncover trends, pain points, and opportunities, enabling data-driven decision-making for product managers and other teams. Source
Spinach AI automatically captures meeting notes, action items, and outcomes, allowing users to stay engaged in discussions without the distraction of manual note-taking. Source
Yes, Spinach AI provides tailored solutions for roles such as product managers, sales teams, engineering teams, HR, customer success, and more, addressing their unique workflow needs. Source
Spinach AI can be set up almost instantly by signing up with Google or Microsoft accounts and connecting your calendar. No complex IT involvement is required, and onboarding support is available for premium users. Source
Customers consistently highlight Spinach AI's ease of use. For example, Dan Robidoux (Tech Lead at Careviso) said, "It’s so natural and easy to use, and the Jira integration is super helpful." Source
Customers can expect increased productivity, streamlined workflows, enhanced collaboration, data-driven decision-making, and improved customer engagement. Source
Spinach AI addresses pain points such as manual note-taking, administrative overload, workflow inefficiencies, extracting insights from feedback, and maintaining team alignment. Source
Spinach AI is designed for product managers, engineering teams, project managers, marketing, HR, customer success, sales, finance, and accounting teams—essentially any team looking to improve productivity and collaboration. Source
Spinach AI stands out for its tailored features for different roles, advanced AI-powered insights, seamless integrations, and customizable solutions. Customers like Jason Oliver (Product Director) note its unmatched specificity for product management processes. Source
Spinach AI's vision is to enhance team collaboration and productivity by automating key processes, enabling smarter work and better outcomes. Its mission is to address operational challenges and improve efficiency across industries using AI. Source
Spinach AI offers tailored solutions: sales professionals get automated note-taking and CRM integration, product managers get PRD generation and insights, customer success teams get onboarding automation, and engineering teams get sprint planning tools. Source
Spinach.ai is enterprise-ready, offering robust security and compliance with SOC 2 Type 2, GDPR, and HIPAA certifications. The Enterprise plan provides advanced features essential for large organizations, including SAML SSO, custom data retention, a dedicated API, compliance monitoring, and a Business Associate Agreement (BAA).
There are so many goal-setting terms — OKRs, KPIs, MBOs, V2MOM, SMART goals — at a certain point they all start to blend together. Let's ignore the jargon and talk about how to we can use things like KPIs to increase your odds of hitting your goals.
Brennan
Goal-setting terms are overwhelming and jam packed with acronyms. Depending on where you work or who you ask, they start talking non-stop about random letters, sounds or objects: MBOs, OKRs, KPIs, V2MOM, S.M.A.R.T., or even Rocks 🗿
At a certain point, it all blends together. And by the end of the conversation we’re still sitting there wondering, “How do I set KPIs? How do I measure KPIs? How do I make it useful for my team?”
In this post, I’ll cover the importance of KPIs and how they differ and how their lessons can be incorporated into any goal-setting frameworks.
Let’s start at the start: At its core, a Key Performance Indicator (KPI) is a metric that should lead you toward an end goal. KPIs indicate future success and are often set for individuals or groups to help create a focus.
If we look at this through the lens of trying to achieve a particular revenue milestone, your KPIs may be things like:
These metrics will help companies predict if they can achieve their top line goals.
Now that we know what a KPI is, let’s dive into what makes a good KPI. First things first, setting KPIs shouldn’t be a solo exercise. This needs to be done collaboratively with various stakeholders involved.
Here are three critical factors to take into account when setting KPIs.
Looking at KPIs monthly is too long of a period for maximum effectiveness. With KPIs, you want as many chances as possible to review and check in on them. Having 52 opportunities to make adjustments to achieve your goals, as opposed to 12, will put people in a much better position to hit their KPIs and achieve their goals consistently.
KPIs need to be leading indicators, not lagging indicators.
What’s the difference?
Lagging indicators measure current production and performance. Examples are revenue or the percentage of customer conversations that have been closed –– once you’re measuring these things, it’s already too late to affect them.
Leading indicators will inform you on how to produce and achieve your desired result. So, if you have a goal to hit a certain revenue number, leading indicators that you may want to measure and monitor are the various steps that a dollar has to take on its path to becoming revenue –– these can include things like:
These are work-in-progress steps to achieve the larger revenue goal. Measuring these will be a good indicator of whether or not you are on your way to achieving your goal or, alternatively, help to provide insights into adjustments and improvements required to get there.
It’s important to ensure that all KPIs can go up and to the right, meaning as time goes on, they should be able to improve.
Think of a graph where the x-axis represents time, and the y-axis represents the performance of your KPI. Things are getting better if the chart is going up and trending toward that top right corner.
A general rule of thumb: KPIs should pass the “skim test” ––if you’re busy and just skimming through a dashboard, you should immediately be able to identify if something is good or bad.
That said, not all metrics should technically go up and to the right. Churn rate is an excellent example of this. Higher churn is terrible for a business, so, in this case, up and to the right would be negative. To keep consistency with the rest of your KPIs, ensuring that they all continue to pass the “skim test,” you instead may want to measure retention rates.
No two businesses are exactly alike, which means each one will have its own unique mix of KPIs to measure and monitor if they are on the right track toward achieving their objectives. Although, there are a few KPIs that are specific to SaaS companies. Let’s take a look at these examples:
As an organization, once you’ve established what your KPIs are, it’s essential that you then set up a system that will help you to stay on top of them. In this section, we’ll walk through the three steps we use at Spinach AI to track and measure our own KPIs.
First, let’s start with the layout for the tracking document. The columns are the weekly dates, and the rows are all of our important KPIs/conversion rates.
This should be a living document––don’t worry about making it perfect. The tracking document shouldn’t be set in stone, as you need to be able to hide rows that become irrelevant and add rows whenever another metric is required to improve your tracking.
At Spinach AI, we track 47 metrics/rates at the company level on this master document and share it across the organization. Whoever owns a given metric will manually add/update their numbers every week on this shared sheet.
The next step is creating a KPI dashboard. The dashboard pulls the data from our tracking document mentioned above, only showing the last 90 days of info at any given time. It contains all the information from the tracking document and highlights key performance information.
We also format the dashboard to show our best and worst weeks, allowing us to identify trends and patterns more easily.
Lastly, here’s how the KPI information gets shared throughout Spinach AI:
Once you’ve set your KPI tracker up, add conditional formatting on the cells. By default that will mean the KPIs will go to go RED when it going down and GREEN when it’s going up — but you can change this if you want GREEN to be above a certain number, or RED below a certain number. Set it up the way tat makes the most sense.
Once done this will will allow you to quickly and visually notice patterns. Seeing those patterns will tell you nothing, but they will allow you to ask questions to discover new insights about your business, market, customers, team, etc. It’s best to bring things insights to your team to see if they notice other patterns or discover other insights.
When it comes to your team achieving its goals, KPIs are an important piece of the puzzle.
If you’re interested in a centralized document that your team can use to enter, track, and measure its KPIs, then give Spinach AI’s KPI tracker template a try!
Next, here are some things you can do now that you've read this article:
helps managers run better
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,
hit their
Goals flag
,
and share better
Performance feedback insights
, faster.