The KPIs That Actually Drive Growth (Hint: It’s Not Just Revenue)
For years, revenue has been treated as the ultimate growth metric. Watch it go up quarter over quarter, and it’s easy to assume everything is going well. But revenue is just one layer of the story—and not always the most reliable one.
At Lawrence & Co., we’ve learned that focusing solely on financial outputs like revenue, gross profit, or EBITDA can mask what’s really driving the business forward. If you want real growth—not just better numbers on a spreadsheet, but a stronger company—you need to understand the true drivers underneath those financials. That means tracking what we call Real Growth: increasing your number of Xs, growing your profit per X, and improving the quality of your team.
This framework for Real Growth is a foundational concept in my upcoming book, The Four Forces of Growth, coming this fall. It distills the patterns we’ve seen in the most sustainably successful companies over the past 30 years.
What Is Your “X”?
The “X” is the unit of value your business delivers to customers. It could be:
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- Square feet leased for a real estate business
- Monthly subscriptions for a SaaS company
- Billable hours for a professional services firm
- Vehicles sold for a dealership
The key is to identify the unit that best correlates to your company’s revenue engine. If you’re not growing your number of Xs, your revenue is probably growing through price increases or one-off deals—not sustainable expansion.
Why Profit per X Matters More Than Profit
Profit per X measures how efficiently your business generates value. Unlike total profit, it tells you whether each unit sold is becoming more or less profitable over time.
For example:
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- A consulting firm might track profit per billable hour
- A CPG company might track gross margin per unit sold
- A tech company might look at contribution margin per user
Tracking this KPI helps you isolate whether your unit economics are becoming more or less efficient over time.
The Often-Overlooked Metric: % of A-Players
Great companies aren’t built by metrics alone. They’re built by people. That’s why we recommend tracking your Percentage of A-Players on the team—defined as people who consistently deliver extraordinary results while living your core values.
When you increase your number of Xs, improve your profit per X, and grow the percentage of A Players, you’re building a business that is not only growing, but getting better as it grows.
Challenge: Are You Measuring the Drivers—or Just the Outcomes?
Many executive teams obsess over outputs: revenue, net profit, EBITDA. But those are the result of something else. The question is: are you measuring the something else?
Here are three questions to provoke a deeper discussion at your next executive meeting:
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- What is the X that measures real growth in our business?
- What is our current profit per X, and how is it trending?
- What’s our current percentage of A Players, and what’s our goal?
If your team can’t clearly answer these, it might be time to reset your KPI framework.
Ready for a KPI Reset?
If you want help identifying the most important measurables for your company’s growth, reach out. The right KPIs are more than just metrics—they’re a roadmap to building a better business.
Learn More About Real Growth
If you’re curious to go deeper into the DNA of Real Growth, stay tuned for the release of my new book, The Four Forces of Growth, publishing this fall. It lays out the proven frameworks behind these KPIs and how to leverage them for transformational business performance.
Lawrence & Co’s work focuses on sustainable and enhanced growth for you and your business. Our diverse and experienced group of advisors can help your leaders and executive teams stay competitive through the use of various learning tools including workshops, webinars, executive retreats, or one-to-one coaching.
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