A CEO has 10 minutes before their next meeting. What do they need to see to know if the business is healthy?
Not 50 metrics. Not detailed drill-downs. The 10 metrics that, if they're wrong, the company has a problem.
This guide covers the executive dashboard: what belongs on it, what doesn't, and why.
The Rule: 10 Metrics Max
Executive dashboards should fit on one screen. 10-12 metrics maximum.
Why? Decision-making. Too many metrics paralyze. Too few miss important signals. The sweet spot is 10 metrics that, together, tell the truth about the business.
The 10 Metrics
Group them into four categories: Financial, Customer, People, and Risk.
Category 1: Financial (3 metrics)
1. Revenue Growth (YoY or MoM)
What it is: Total revenue this period vs. last period, as a percentage.
Why weekly: Revenue changes are your earliest warning sign. If growth is slowing, you have 2-4 weeks to respond before it becomes a crisis.
Red flags:
- Growing less than target (e.g., target 10% MoM, actual 3%)
- Decelerating (e.g., 15% MoM last month, 8% this month)
Benchmark:
- Growth-stage startups: +5-15% MoM
- Mature companies: +2-5% YoY
2. Net Profit Margin
What it is: (Revenue - All Costs) ÷ Revenue × 100%
Why weekly: Profit is the ultimate truth. Revenue can be vanity. Profit is real.
Red flags:
- Declining month-over-month (you're losing profitability)
- Below target (costs are creeping up)
- Becoming negative (you're burning through savings)
Benchmark:
- SaaS: 15-25%
- Retail: 2-5%
- B2B Services: 10-15%
3. Cash Runway (or Burn Rate)
What it is: Cash in bank ÷ Monthly burn = months until you run out.
Why weekly: This is your survival metric. If you have only 3 months of runway, every decision changes.
Red flags:
- Below 6 months (you're in danger)
- Accelerating burn (burn rate is increasing)
- No clear path to profitability (infinite burn is unsustainable)
Benchmark:
- Startups should target 12+ months
- Profitable companies: N/A (you're not burning)
Category 2: Customer (3 metrics)
4. MRR / ARR Growth
What it is: Monthly (or Annual) Recurring Revenue, tracking month-over-month change.
Why weekly: For subscription businesses, this predicts future revenue better than one-time sales.
Red flags:
- MRR growth slowing (earlier indicator than revenue churn)
- MRR declining (losing customers or expansion)
Benchmark:
- Growth-stage: +10-15% MoM
- Mature: +2-5% MoM
5. Net Promoter Score (NPS)
What it is: Percentage of customers who would recommend you minus percentage who wouldn't.
Why weekly: NPS is a leading indicator of retention. If NPS drops, churn will follow.
Red flags:
- NPS declining month-over-month
- NPS below industry average for your sector
Benchmark:
- SaaS: 40-60 is healthy
- Retail: 30-50 is decent
- Software/Platforms: 50+ is excellent
6. CAC Payback Period
What it is: Months to recoup customer acquisition cost from that customer's profit.
Why weekly: If payback period is lengthening, you're spending more to acquire customers who aren't worth it.
Red flags:
- Payback period extending beyond 12-18 months
- Increasing spend with same/lower return
Benchmark:
- SaaS: 12-18 months is healthy
- High-ticket: 24+ months acceptable if LTV justifies it
Category 3: People (1 metric)
7. Employee Net Promoter Score (eNPS)
What it is: Would your employees recommend your company as a place to work? (0-10 scale, same calculation as NPS)
Why weekly: Happy employees = better execution. Unhappy employees = risk of attrition and cultural issues.
Red flags:
- eNPS declining
- eNPS in negative territory
Benchmark:
- Average: 10-30
- Excellent: 50+
Category 4: Growth & Risk (3 metrics)
8. Pipeline Coverage Ratio (for Sales-Driven Companies)
What it is: Total pipeline value ÷ Quarterly quota
Why weekly: A pipeline of 3x quarterly quota is healthy. Below 2x means you'll miss quota.
Red flags:
- Coverage below 2x
- Coverage declining month-over-month
Benchmark:
- Healthy: 3-4x quarterly quota
- At-risk: Below 2x
9. Website/Product Conversion Rate
What it is: Visitors → Signups or Leads ÷ Total Visitors
Why weekly: Low conversion means either terrible product/marketing fit or a UX problem.
Red flags:
- Conversion declining
- Conversion below industry average
Benchmark:
- B2B SaaS: 2-5%
- E-commerce: 1-3%
- High-intent (bottom funnel): 10-20%
10. Churn Rate (or Key Risk Indicator)
What it is: Percentage of customers lost each month.
Why weekly: Churn is subtle. A 2% change might not be obvious until 2 months later when you realize 10% of customers are gone.
Red flags:
- Churn increasing
- Churn above industry average
- Specific cohort with high churn (early-stage customers, specific region)
Benchmark:
- SaaS: 2-5% monthly is typical, <2% is excellent
- Ecommerce/subscription: 5-10% monthly is typical
What Should NOT Be On the CEO Dashboard
Real-time social media impressions. Vanity metric, doesn't impact strategy.
Historical data (3+ years old). Doesn't inform current decisions.
Department-specific metrics. Save those for department dashboards. CEO cares about aggregate impact.
Metrics you can't act on. If you see it trending wrong, can you change it? If not, remove it.
Metrics that don't affect survival or strategy. Email open rates, page load time, code deployment frequency — important, but not CEO-level.
The Dashboard Layout
Weekly CEO Huddle Dashboard (what it should look like):
┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ FINANCIAL HEALTH │
├──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ Revenue Profit Margin Cash Runway │
│ $2.5M 18% 9 months │
│ ↑ 8% MoM ↓ 2% from target ⚠ Below 12 month target │
└──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ CUSTOMER HEALTH │
├──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ MRR Growth NPS CAC Payback │
│ +6% MoM 52 14 months │
│ ↓ slowing ↑ from 48 ✓ healthy │
│ │
│ Pipeline Coverage Conversion Churn Rate │
│ 2.8x 3.2% 2.1% │
│ ⚠ watch it ↓ declining ✓ stable │
└──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ ORGANIZATION & RISK │
├──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ eNPS │
│ 28 │
│ ↓ declining from 35 │
│ Action: Exit survey feedback shows comp concerns │
└──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Last updated: Today at 8:00 AM
How to Use It
1. Daily (5-minute check)
Glance at the dashboard. Has anything turned red? If yes, ask the relevant owner what's happening.
2. Weekly (15-30 minute deep dive)
Review trends. Which metrics are improving? Which are declining? What caused the changes?
Format: Weekly 15-minute huddle with leadership:
- "Revenue is down 15%. Why?" (Sales leader explains)
- "Churn spiked this week. What happened?" (CS leader explains)
- Decide on actions for the week.
3. Monthly (Strategic Review)
Step back. Are we on track for quarterly/annual goals? Do we need to pivot?
Setting Targets and Alerts
For each metric, define:
- Target: Where do we want this to be?
- Alert threshold: What change triggers a conversation?
Example:
- Revenue Target: +10% MoM
- Revenue Alert: Below +5% MoM (red flag, discuss)
- Churn Target: <2% monthly
- Churn Alert: Above 3% monthly (investigate)
Set up automatic alerts so you don't have to check manually.
Customizing by Business Type
These 10 metrics work for most SaaS/subscription companies. Adjust for your model:
E-Commerce:
- Swap CAC payback for: Inventory turns, average order value
- Swap NPS for: CSAT, return rate
Marketplace:
- Add: Supplier/Seller growth
- Add: Marketplace transaction value
- Add: Vendor churn
Enterprise B2B:
- Add: Sales cycle length
- Add: Deal velocity (pipeline momentum)
- Churn is more important (fewer, larger customers)
Bootstrapped/Profitable:
- Swap cash runway for: Reinvestment rate
- Focus less on growth, more on profitability
The One-Pager Rule
All 10 metrics should fit on ONE page, ONE screen. If it doesn't, you have too much.
This forces prioritization. You can't look at everything, so you look at what matters.
Checklist: Your Executive Dashboard
- ✓ Has exactly 8-12 metrics (not more)
- ✓ Covers Financial, Customer, People, and Risk
- ✓ Each metric has a clear target and context
- ✓ All metrics can be updated weekly
- ✓ Metrics are actionable (you can do something if they're wrong)
- ✓ Fits on one screen
- ✓ Includes trends (not just snapshots)
- ✓ Color-coded for quick status (red/yellow/green)
- ✓ Customized to your business model
- ✓ Reviewed weekly in a structured format
The Bottom Line
A CEO dashboard answers the question: "Is the business winning?"
If you see all 10 metrics trending positively, you're winning. If 3-4 are red, you have work to do. If 7+ are red, you have a crisis.
Review these weekly. Update them daily. Don't get lost in the details.
These 10 metrics are your compass. Everything else is navigation.