tl;dr: Most teams waste time reacting to every rise and fall in their metrics. In this Lean Startup webcast, I explain how Process Behavior Charts help you filter out noise, see real signals, and focus your energy on actual improvement instead of constant overanalysis and fire drills.
Eric Ries and Lean Startup Co. have been really helpful friends in spreading the message about “Process Behavior Charts” in their community. They invited me to give a talk at last year's Lean Startup Week and Eric was kind enough to endorse my book Measures of Success (the paperback is coming soon – get notified – or pre-order):
“By combining a range of case studies and stories across industries, including many from his own personal experience, with detailed, clear explanations of what Process Behavior Charts are and why they're so effective for managing data, Mark Graban has written a readable, informative book to guide any leader who wants to help an organization achieve true and lasting success. Improvement has been made easier thanks to his work.”
Recently, they invited me to be a guest for their webcast series, where Marilyn Gorman asked me questions about my book and the Process Behavior Chart methodology. It was a challenge to talk about this visual method without slides and charts, so I did my best to create air charts with finger gestures :-)
In the link below, you can you can read a good summary (or the full transcript).
“How To Turn Data And Metrics Into The Right Kind Of Action“
You'll see my clean-shaven face, as we recorded this on November 1st when I shaved for the Movember fundraising effort (learn more and donate).
This Lean Startup webcast gave me a chance to dig into a challenge I see everywhere: teams are flooded with data, but they're often using it in ways that create more noise than clarity. Too many leaders react to every small rise or fall in a metric, assuming each movement has meaning. Most don't. In the session, I walked through how Process Behavior Charts help organizations separate real signals from routine fluctuation–an idea I explore in Measures of Success and in the related Medium article, “How To Turn Data And Metrics Into the Right Kind of Action.”
Why this matters:
Most organizations waste enormous time explaining numbers that don't need explaining.
Key themes we covered:
- The noise in our numbers:
Daily or weekly variation is normal. Reacting to every wobble only creates churn. - Stop overanalyzing and start visualizing:
A simple run chart or Process Behavior Chart provides context you can't get from isolated data points. - You don't have to be a numbers person:
With the right visuals, anyone can understand what the system is telling them–and what it isn't. - Avoiding the overreaction trap:
Without context, leaders send “Please explain” emails, launch investigations, or pressure teams… even when nothing has actually changed. - Finding real signals:
Process Behavior Charts highlight when performance truly shifts in a statistically meaningful way. That's when it makes sense to ask “Why?”
The big takeaway:
Noise isn't a problem–it's a property of every stable system. When we stop trying to interpret every up and down, we free ourselves (and our teams) to focus on improving the system instead of constantly justifying it.
Bottom line:
Better metrics don't require more analysis. They require clearer thinking and better habits–looking at data in context, reacting only when there's real evidence, and directing energy toward improvement instead of explanation.
“Mark believes that it's important for companies of all sizes — from startups to big corporations — to take a step back and evaluate how they look at metrics. It can be easy for a company to look at the numbers and react to every uptick, downturn or minor change — something Mark likes to call the “noise” in a metric. But he thinks it's important for companies and individuals to determine whether or not that noise is a meaningful signal or just a standard fluctuation around an average that doesn't need to be addressed.”
Thanks again to Marilyn for hosting and asking great questions.
My Lean Startup Week Talk:
Conclusion
Whether you're in a startup or a large organization, the challenge is the same: numbers move, and we feel pressure to react. The problem isn't a lack of data–it's the lack of context. Process Behavior Charts give us that context by showing when a metric truly changes and when it's simply fluctuating the way stable systems do.
When we stop chasing noise, we create the time and space to focus on real improvement. That's the shift I hope leaders take away from this webcast. Better metrics aren't about more dashboards or more analysis. They're about clearer thinking, calmer leadership, and a more predictable pathway to learning and progress.
If we can help teams spend less time explaining yesterday's number and more time improving tomorrow's results, that's a win for everyone.
Please scroll down (or click) to post a comment. Connect with me on LinkedIn.
If you’re working to build a culture where people feel safe to speak up, solve problems, and improve every day, I’d be glad to help. Let’s talk about how to strengthen Psychological Safety and Continuous Improvement in your organization.
