One Metric That Matters (OMTM)
Focus your entire startup on one critical number at a time
The One Metric That Matters is the discipline of selecting a single, critical metric that your entire company focuses on above all else at any given time. While you will always track multiple numbers as key performance indicators, the OMTM forces you to identify the one number that answers your most important current question and aligns with your current stage of growth.
The power of the OMTM lies in its ability to force clarity. When everyone in the organization rallies around a single metric, experiments become more controlled, results are easier to compare, and the entire company moves in the same direction. The OMTM changes over time as you progress through stages. When focused on user acquisition, it might be conversion rate. When focused on retention, it might be churn.
Critically, the OMTM must be paired with a line in the sand: a target value that defines success. Without this benchmark, you cannot know whether to double down on your current approach or pivot to something new. The combination of a focused metric and a clear target is what transforms data from noise into actionable intelligence.
- At any given time, there is one metric you should care about above all else, determined by your business stage and model
- The OMTM must change over time as you progress through stages of growth from empathy to scale
- A metric without a line in the sand is useless; always define what success looks like before collecting data
- Optimizing one metric will naturally reveal the next area that needs attention, like squeezing a stress toy
- Capture everything but focus on what is important; the ability to track many things should not distract from the one that matters
- Identify your current stageDetermine which of the five Lean Analytics stages you are in: Empathy, Stickiness, Virality, Revenue, or Scale. Your stage dictates the category of metric you should focus on. Be honest about where you truly are rather than where you wish you were.Pro tipIf you cannot clearly articulate your stage, you are likely still in Empathy. Most founders overestimate how far along they are.
- Select a single metric that answers your riskiest questionBased on your stage and business model, choose the one number that represents the biggest risk to your business right now. This should be a metric that, if it moved significantly, would change your behavior and decisions. It must be actionable, comparative, and understandable.Pro tipGood OMTMs are often ratios or rates rather than absolute numbers. Percent of active users is better than total users.WarningAvoid vanity metrics that only go up and to the right. Total signups, total downloads, and number of followers are almost never the right OMTM.
- Draw a line in the sandSet a target value for your OMTM that defines success. This number should come from either your business model requirements or industry benchmarks. If you hit it, you move forward. If you do not, you iterate or pivot. Most experiments end in the messy middle, and without a pre-set target you will not know how to interpret results.Pro tipLook at industry benchmarks as a starting point. For SaaS, monthly churn below 5 percent is a common gate. For e-commerce, know your 90-day repurchase rate.WarningDo not lower the bar just to feel good about clearing it. If you adjust your target, make sure it is because you genuinely understand why, backed by qualitative data.
- Make the OMTM visible to the entire companyDisplay your OMTM prominently on dashboards, TV screens, and in regular emails. Everyone in the organization should know the metric, its current value, and the target. This alignment creates a culture of experimentation where anyone can propose and run tests to improve the number.Pro tipEncourage every team member to run independent experiments aimed at improving the OMTM. Planned, methodical failure from testing is how you learn.
- Recognize when it is time to change the OMTMWhen you hit your target or realize the metric has been optimized as far as it can go, acknowledge that the squeeze toy has bulged elsewhere. Identify the next critical metric revealed by your optimization and shift your focus. This is often an inflection point for the business.Pro tipThe transition between OMTMs often maps to stage transitions: from engagement metrics to viral metrics to revenue metrics.
Moz, a successful SaaS company for SEO tools, tracked many metrics across departments. After investor Brad Feld suggested reducing the number of KPIs, the company zeroed in on Net Adds as its OMTM: total new paid subscribers minus cancellations per day. This single number encompassed conversion, acquisition, and churn in one view.
Solare Ristorante in San Diego, run by data-driven serial entrepreneur Randy Smerik, tracks the daily ratio of staff costs to gross revenues. Staff yell out the previous day's number each morning. At 24 percent they know they are on track; above 30 percent signals overstaffing or under-selling.
The OMTM concept emerged from Alistair Croll and Benjamin Yoskovitz's experience at Year One Labs, a startup accelerator. They noticed that the teams who could articulate their single most important metric on the tip of their tongues, and knew its current value, were consistently the ones making the most progress. Teams juggling multiple metrics or tracking the wrong ones for their stage invariably struggled.
The concept was also influenced by investor Brad Feld of Foundry Group, who advised companies like Moz to track fewer KPIs rather than more, arguing that too much data can be counterproductive and lead teams to get lost in strange trends rather than focusing on big-picture outcomes.