You're tracking 50+ metrics, but can't make a decision. Focus on the 5 KPIs that actually matter. Here's your executive dashboard.

Information Overload: What to Cut

Most dashboards are cluttered with vanity metrics:

What to Remove

Pageviews (unless connected to revenue)
Impressions (meaningless)
Social followers (quantity ≠ quality)
Email opens (broken metric)
Time on site (can mean they're lost)
Bounce rate (misleading)

KPI 1: Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC)

The most important metric:

Why It Matters

Tells you if marketing is efficient
Shows if you can scale profitably
Helps budget allocation decisions

How to Calculate

CAC = Total Marketing Costs / Customers Acquired

Include: Ad spend, salaries, tools, overhead

KPI 2: Lifetime Value (LTV)

How much a customer is worth:

Why It Matters

Shows customer value
Helps justify acquisition costs
Guides retention strategy

How to Calculate

LTV = Average Revenue Per Customer × Gross Margin % × Average Lifespan

KPI 3: Marketing Originated Revenue

Revenue from marketing-attributed customers:

Why It Matters

Proves marketing's impact
Shows ROI
Justifies marketing budget

KPI 4: Pipeline Velocity

How fast deals move:

Why It Matters

Faster velocity = better cash flow
Shows sales efficiency
Helps forecasting

How to Calculate

Pipeline Velocity = (Opportunities × Avg Deal Size × Win Rate) / Sales Cycle Length

KPI 5: Retention Rate

How many customers you keep:

Why It Matters

Retention is cheaper than acquisition
Shows product-market fit
Predicts growth sustainability

Conclusion

Cut the noise. Focus on these 5 KPIs: CAC, LTV, Marketing Originated Revenue, Pipeline Velocity, and Retention Rate. These metrics drive decisions. Everything else is just data.