What Are KPIs (and Why Should You Care?)

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) often get a bad rap. To some, they sound like cold, top-down metrics dreamed up by “management” to monitor people. It’s easy to see how KPIs might feel impersonal—like turning real work into numbers. And yes, if misused, they can do more harm than good.

But when implemented thoughtfully, KPIs are the lighthouse that keeps our ship—our team—safe and on course. They represent our shared commitment to excellence, to one another, and to the joyful, empowering experiences we create for our customers every day. When taken seriously, KPIs become a source of pride, momentum, and clarity. When ignored, they become a silent threat to our progress.

KPIs Are Leading Indicators of Business Health

Every business needs to generate revenue to survive. In the best companies, strong performance also creates opportunities for the team—like promotions, raises, and new career paths. KPIs help ensure that performance is moving in the right direction before problems show up in the financials.

Think of it like this:

If your car starts making a weird noise or the “check engine” light comes on, that’s a sign something’s off. You’ve got time to get it checked out before it turns into a major issue. That’s a leading indicator.

Now imagine ignoring those signs and waiting until your car breaks down on the side of the road. At that point, it’s a lagging indicator—the problem has already happened, and now you’re dealing with the consequences.

KPIs are your business’s version of that “check engine” light. They give you a heads-up so you can take action before things break down.

KPIs Give People Real-Time Feedback

In The Truth About Employee Engagement, author Patrick Lencioni highlights a major source of job dissatisfaction: immeasurement. Immeasurement is the inability for a team member to clearly measure their own performance—to know whether they’re doing a good job or falling short. Without that clarity, motivation fades and engagement suffers.

The right KPIs give you a clear, objective signal: Am I doing a good job? For the right people, this is incredibly motivating. It removes the guesswork and empowers individuals to take ownership of their performance with confidence.

Resistance to KPIs often comes from those who know they aren’t performing well. KPIs—and the accountability that comes with them—shine a light on who’s truly contributing and who’s not. That clarity is energizing for the people who are pulling their weight. It reinforces a culture where effort is recognized and celebrated.

KPI Commandments

To keep our lighthouse shining, these commandments guide how we define, use, and live our KPIs:

1. KPIs Must Be Taken Seriously

Filling in numbers just to check a box does not serve you, your team, or our company. KPIs are not busy work—they are the heartbeat of progress. Everyone must be passionate about the numbers they own. When you fight for your KPI, you’re fighting for your team’s success. Every number tells a story—and you’re the author.

2. Every KPI Must Have a Clear Goal

A number without a goal is noise. A number with a goal becomes a compass. It shows us where we stand, and whether we’re winning or falling behind. Without that clarity, we can’t make smart decisions—or celebrate true progress.

3. Less Is More: Focus on the Vital Few

Each team should have no more than 15 KPIs. Most individuals should only own 1–3. Too many numbers dilute focus. We track only what truly moves the needle.

4. The Trend is Your Friend

We don’t panic over one bad week. Instead, we look at the 13-week trend—because progress is a pattern, not a moment. Weekly performance matters, but sustained improvement is what drives real impact.

5. KPIs Must Be Reviewed Weekly with Full Team Visibility

Every KPI should be reviewed weekly, with your team. Visibility creates shared accountability. When your teammates see how you’re doing—and vice versa—it builds mutual respect, motivation, and alignment. It’s not about shame. It’s about truth and teamwork.

6. KPIs Must Be Understood and Agreed Upon

A KPI that no one believes in won’t be followed. All team members must be aligned on what is being measured and why it matters. The more connected a KPI is to our vision and budget, the harder it is to argue with—and the easier it is to rally around.

Example: If our monthly sales goal is $30,000 and the average transaction is $1,000, it’s clear that we need 7-8 transactions per week. That’s not arbitrary—it’s math. It’s logic tied directly to our shared vision.

7. No Excuses—Only Ownership

Challenges will come—weather, staff shortages, unexpected obstacles. But our job is not to explain why we failed. Our job is to figure out how to succeed despite those challenges. When we agree on a goal, we commit to finding a way.

Example: If a fence company is supposed to build 5 fences a week but misses the goal repeatedly every week it rains for a day, maybe the plan should be to build 7 fences to allow for weather challenges. Build margin. Solve problems. Own the outcome.

8. KPIs Must Be Assigned to the Person with the Most Control of It

The person who owns the KPI should be the one best positioned to drive it. And once it’s assigned, that person is accountable—not just to hit it, but to ask for training, tools, and time if needed. Extreme ownership means owning the result, not just the effort.

9. Managers Should Guide, Not Rescue

A manager’s job is not to jump in and do someone else’s work. When that happens, the manager burns out, team development stalls, and no one hits their own numbers. If the right person is in the right seat, they should be able to deliver with minimal intervention.

10. KPI Misses Come Down to Three Things

When a KPI is consistently missed, we must ask:

• Is it the wrong KPI? (Are we focusing on the wrong thing?)
• Is it an unrealistic goal? (Does it require us to update our vision or budget?)
• Is it a people issue? (Is the wrong person in the seat?)

11. Macro-Economic Factors Are Rare—But Real

Sometimes external forces impact performance—recessions, pandemics, industry shifts. But before blaming the environment, we must validate it. If peer companies in the same area are also down, it may be real. But if others are winning while we’re not, the problem is internal—not external.

12. Results Matter more than Effort

Imagine a goalie with a target of blocking 80% of shots but they’re only blocking 20%. That hurts the team, the fans, the school. Even if they’re trying their best, they’re not delivering what’s needed. Over time, that leads to frustration and low morale—for them and everyone else.

Leaving someone in a role they can’t succeed in isn’t kindness—it’s avoidance. They deserve a seat where they can thrive. And the team deserves a player who can deliver in that position.

Conclusion

At our companies, we believe in empowering people to thrive—and KPIs help make that happen. They are not rules for the sake of rules. They are the shared language of ownership, impact, and growth. If we each own our number, take it seriously, and work together toward our goals, we all rise—together.

Let’s keep the lighthouse shining. 🌟