If more than 3 or 4, there’s no score.

To be effective, feedback systems should filter and collect data into just three or four key, actionable numbers. And only three or four such metrics, maximum. Any more and much is lost in the process, including important data, time and activity information. Most importantly, focus is lost. There is a magic in zeroing in on just a few meaningful numbers that are treated as religion. Surprisingly large businesses have been run on just a few metrics.

In the age of big data where we have more data and measurements than we know what to do with, the need to find metrics that are truly meaningful is becoming both more difficult and more important. We think of these key metrics as your “small data” — the quick keys that are needed for fast decision-making. After all, that is the main value in any metric: it’s ability to help you make a decision.