There is a graphic making the rounds on LinkedIn called “Top 18 KPIs for CEOs.” It includes the metrics you might expect: revenue growth rate, gross margin, customer acquisition cost, churn, net promoter score, employee turnover, EBITDA, etc. It purports to show the full dashboard the chief executive should use to run the business.
It’s a solid list, but none of these are “KPIs for the CEO.” I know that sounds a little pedantic, but to position these items as “for the CEO” misunderstands what the CEO job actually is. And when a CEO thinks these are their metrics, they are usually headed for trouble.
Every One of Those Metrics Already Has an Owner
Let’s look at the list of KPIs for the CEO again. Notice that each of them already belongs to one of the six core functional areas of the business.
Revenue growth rate, sales cycle length ⮕ Sales
Customer acquisition cost ⮕ Marketing
Churn, net revenue retention, NPS ⮕ Customer
Employee turnover ⮕ People / HR
Gross margin, cash runway, burn multiple…
