Business Model Canvas & Lean Canvas · Core
Key metrics
Also called: vital metrics
ELI5
The numbers that best show whether the business is working.
Used in conversation
“Choose key metrics that expose failure early.”
Definition
The small set of measures that most directly indicate whether the model is working.
Here “Key metrics” means: The small set of measures that most directly indicate whether the model is working.
Pitch context
You will see “Key metrics” in strategy decks, market analyses, business plans and planning workshops when the discussion reaches business model canvas & lean canvas.
Why it matters: It helps a reader interpret business model canvas & lean canvas without confusing the measure, decision, role or evidence being discussed.
Sources & evidence · 5
Supporting source families. This entry is an editorial synthesis rather than a quotation from one canonical glossary.
- Strategyzer — Business Model Canvas resourcesSupporting source family · practitioner · checked 2026-08-16
- Strategyzer — Value Proposition Canvas resourcesSupporting source family · practitioner · checked 2026-08-16
- LEANSTACK — Lean CanvasSupporting source family · practitioner · checked 2026-08-16
- U.S. Department of Justice Antitrust Division — Herfindahl-Hirschman IndexSupporting source family · primary · checked 2026-08-16
- U.S. Census Bureau — Business and economy dataSupporting source family · primary · checked 2026-08-16