Before the monthly metrics review becomes the pack the board relies on, war-game it. Keep it to the few numbers that would change a decision, write a definition for each that stays fixed from month to month, decide in advance what green means, and give every miss a cause and a next step. Paste the pack, the definitions, three months of results, and notes on definition changes into one request. Instruct Pingpong to flag numbers no one acts on, definitions that shifted without a note, green statuses that hide a miss against plan, and misses with no next step. Review your written answers in a second round.
This page is for chief executives and finance leaders building the recurring review the executive team runs and the board reads. The rhythm around it is covered in war-game a founder-mode operating cadence before the board sees it. Executive starting points live under Pingpong for executives.
What earns a place in the pack
- A decision rides on it: if the number moved sharply, someone would do something different next week.
- An owner: one role explains it every month.
- A fixed definition: written down, with the source system, and dated when it changes.
- A plan to compare against: a number with no target is a fact, and facts belong in an appendix.
Operating teams need dozens of numbers. The board needs perhaps ten.
What green has to mean
In most packs, green drifts. It starts as "on plan," becomes "on track to recover," and ends as "the owner feels fine about it." It happens one generous judgment at a time, usually from a leader with a fix in motion. A director who spots three greens on numbers below plan stops trusting the colors. Set the rule once: green means at or above plan this month, amber means within an agreed band, red means outside it. Recovery plans go in the commentary.
A worked example
This example is illustrative and does not describe a customer. A 250-person subscription software company sends the board a monthly pack of 42 metrics. After two meetings, a new director says she cannot tell whether the company is ahead of plan or behind it. The chief executive and finance leader rebuild the pack before the next meeting.
They paste the pack, the definitions, three months of results, and a note that sales changed how it counts pipeline.
A useful pass finds that 11 of the 42 metrics have no target and no owner. Net revenue retention is shown as 112 percent, but the definition now excludes customers who downgraded to a free tier, a change made two months ago with no footnote. On the old definition the figure is 104 percent. Pipeline coverage jumped from 2.1 to 3.4 times in one month because the sales team began counting early-stage opportunities, presented as improvement. Seven metrics are green while below plan, each with a note about a fix underway. Gross margin missed plan for a third month, with a different cause each time.
The rebuilt pack has nine board metrics, each with an owner, a definition, and a plan; the rest move to an appendix. Retention is restated on the original definition, with the new one alongside and the change explained in a sentence. Pipeline coverage is shown both ways for three months so the board can see the break. Green follows the written rule, which turns five greens amber and two red. The finance leader writes one paragraph on gross margin covering all three months, with one root cause, a fix, and the month it should show. The chief executive opens by walking through the definition changes before anyone finds them.
How to explain a miss
- State the number, the plan, and the gap, in that order.
- Give the cause in one or two sentences. If it is the same miss as last month, say so and connect the explanations.
- Say what changes, who owns it, and the month the number should recover.
- Say what happens if it does not.
When the miss is large enough to change the full-year numbers, see war-game a budget reforecast before you present the new numbers.
A request you can copy
Below are our monthly metrics pack, the metric definitions, three months of results, and notes on definition changes. For each metric, check for an owner, a fixed definition, a plan, and a decision that depends on it. Flag definition changes without a note. Flag green statuses on numbers below plan. Check whether repeated misses have consistent explanations and a recovery date. Suggest which metrics belong in the board pack. Stop there so we can answer in writing, then review our answers.
How Pingpong runs the review
The web review app sends your request through several models in order. Each later model receives the original request and every earlier answer, with instructions to assess the work so far. For the steps inside the app, see running your first review.
What a model can't review
A model can only check the numbers you give it. It cannot see whether the source data is clean. Finance owns the figures. Pingpong checks whether the pack tells the truth about them.
When the decision goes to the board, see war-game a decision before the board meeting. More guides live under work decisions before you commit.