David Sacks’s Operating Cadence: Weekly Metrics, OKRs, and the CEO Dashboard You Actually Need

‍

Founders ask me all the time if the David Sacks operating cadence is too heavy for a startup, and my answer is simple.
It is the fastest way I know to turn chaos into momentum without killing speed.
In this guide, I break down how to run weekly metrics, write OKRs that actually drive action, and build the CEO dashboard you need to run the company day to day.
I share the meeting stack, the tools, the metrics, and the real-world rhythms I use so you can implement the system in 30 days.
I also include tips most articles miss, like how to set thresholds, how to audit your cadence, and how to evolve it from pre-PMF to scale.

‍

1) What I Mean by “David Sacks’s Operating Cadence”

When I say David Sacks’s operating cadence, I mean a simple execution framework that connects strategy to weekly action.
It is a system of meetings, dashboards, and metrics that creates a cadence of accountability without creating bureaucracy.
The heart of it is weekly metrics, quarterly OKRs, and a CEO dashboard that focuses attention where it matters.

Here is the spirit of the cadence.
Weekly: Review metrics, unblock issues, and make decisions.
Monthly: Review roadmap, forecast, and budget variances.
Quarterly: Set OKRs, reset priorities, and recalibrate the operating plan.
Annually: Align on strategy, capital plan, and hiring plan.
This stack gives you signal without noise.

For more on startup execution systems, see our blog post: Capitaly.vc Blog.

2) The Weekly Metrics Review: A 60-Minute Agenda That Works

I run the weekly metrics meeting like a flight check.
No storytelling. Just numbers, thresholds, and decisions.
It takes 60 minutes because every leader comes prepared.

Here is the agenda I use.
0–5 min: CEO opens with the three numbers that matter this week.
5–25 min: Funnel metrics review across Marketing, Sales, CS.
25–40 min: Product and Engineering velocity, quality, and delivery.
40–50 min: Finance KPIs, cash, burn multiple, and runway.
50–60 min: Decisions, owners, and due dates captured live.

I display a single shared dashboard on screen.
Each metric is red, amber, or green against a weekly threshold.
If a metric is red two weeks in a row, we stop and address it with a concrete plan.
No excuses, just owner, root cause, countermeasure, date.

• Pro tip: Agree on the “math” of each KPI so nobody debates definitions mid-meeting.
• Pro tip: Freeze the data pull at the same time weekly to prevent drift.
• Pro tip: Add a “next week prediction” field to build forecasting muscles.

3) The CEO Dashboard: The Five Numbers That Run the Company

Most CEO dashboards try to be everything and become nothing.
I keep a tight “3x5” rule.
Three core charts and five headline numbers.
If I cannot glance it in two minutes and know the state of the business, it is not a CEO dashboard.

Here are the five numbers I track weekly.
Pipeline coverage: Next-quarter pipeline divided by target ARR for that quarter.
Net dollar retention (NRR): The compounding engine in B2B.
New ARR: Booked and billed, with slip rate noted.
Burn multiple: Net burn divided by net new ARR.
Cash runway: Months until zero at current burn.

The three charts are simple.
Funnel: MQL→SQL→SAO→Closed Won with conversion and cycle times.
Cohorts: Retention curves by signup quarter.
Product usage: North star activity per active account.

For more on investor-grade dashboards, see our blog post: Capitaly.vc Blog.

4) Designing OKRs That Actually Drive Weekly Execution

OKRs are not a wish list.
They are a contract with the business.
When I write OKRs, I force a weekly line of sight from each key result to a metric on the dashboard.

I use this three-part test.
Specific: The key result has a single equation and clear owner.
Observable weekly: You can see a leading indicator move every week.
Cross-functional: No orphan OKRs that require other teams but lack joint ownership.

Example.
Objective: “Crush Q2 pipeline quality.”
Key results.
Increase SQL-to-SAO conversion from 30% to 45%.
Lift median deal size from $18k to $25k.
Reduce cycle time from 64 days to 45 days.
Every KR appears as a row in the weekly meeting.

5) Translating OKRs to Team Scorecards and One-on-Ones

OKRs die when they do not show up in 1:1s.
I build a simple scorecard for each leader.
It mirrors the weekly dashboard and supports the OKRs they own.
We review deltas, bottlenecks, and interlocks in 30 minutes.

• Scorecard rows: 5–7 metrics each leader owns.
• Columns: Last week, threshold, forecast, owner notes, asks.
• Rhythm: Weekly 1:1 with CEO, biweekly peer interlock.

This gives me early warning without micromanaging.
It also makes performance reviews trivial.
We can tie compensation to outcomes, not anecdotes.

6) Choosing Your North Star Metric Without Overfitting

Picking a north star metric is powerful and dangerous.
If you choose vanity, you get motion without progress.
If you choose a lagging outcome, you starve the present of feedback.
I use a simple filter to avoid overfitting.

• Behavioral: The metric measures value-creating user behavior.
• Controllable: Teams can influence it weekly.
• Predictive: It correlates with retention and revenue in cohort analysis.

Examples.
Minutes of active collaboration per account in a B2B SaaS.
Weekly active projects with 2+ collaborators.
Unique use-cases activated within 30 days.
Build the dashboard around this metric and watch everything else align.

7) Sales Metrics That Actually Predict Revenue

Revenue is the outcome.
Sales health shows up earlier if you know where to look.
Here are the predictive sales metrics I rely on.

• Pipeline coverage: 3–4x target for early-stage, 2.5–3x at scale.
• Stage conversion: Especially SQL→SAO and Proposal→Commit.
• Cycle time: Median days from SAO to Close Won by segment.
• Win rate: By ICP and use case, not just aggregate.
• Forecast accuracy: Commit vs actual, plus slip rate.

I also track the “magic number” to gauge sales efficiency.
If it is below 0.5, you are likely over-hiring.
If it is above 1.0, you may be under-investing.

For more on building a GTM engine investors trust, see our blog post: Capitaly.vc Blog.

8) Marketing Metrics That Align With Pipeline Quality

Marketing loves top-of-funnel growth, but the operating cadence loves quality.
I judge marketing by what enters and exits the sales process.

• MQL quality: MQL→SQL by channel and by campaign.
• Cost per SAO: The real cost of sales readiness.
• Pipeline by ICP: Do we create pipeline where we win.
• Content-assisted revenue: Touchpoints that correlate to higher win rates.

I also track “lagged lift.”
When we ship a major product, I look for a two-quarter lift in inbound SAOs from content tied to that release.
That shows marketing and product are moving together.

9) Product and Engineering Cadence: Roadmap, Velocity, Quality

Product and engineering need a different rhythm.
I run a monthly roadmap review and a weekly delivery checkpoint.
The goal is shipping value on time with a tight feedback loop.

• Velocity: Completed points versus planned with stability bands.
• Quality: Defect escape rate and rollback frequency.
• Delivery: Commitment accuracy for roadmap epics.
• Adoption: % of active accounts that touch the new feature in 14 days.

We use PRFAQs or one-pagers for big bets to align scope early.
This kills churned work and clarifies what “done” means across functions.

10) Customer Success: Making NRR the Heartbeat

Customer Success is where compounding lives.
In the Sacks operating cadence, I make NRR the heartbeat.
It shows up weekly, not just at QBRs.

• NRR: By cohort and by segment, with expansion vs contraction.
• Gross revenue retention: The ceiling for your NRR.
• Time-to-value: Days to first meaningful activation.
• Health score: Usage, support tickets, and exec sponsor engagement.

I also track a simple “renewal risk heatmap.”
Every logo 90 days out gets green, amber, or red.
We assign exec sponsors to red logos and set a rescue plan within a week.

11) Finance Metrics: Burn, Runway, and Efficiency

Finance anchors the operating plan.
I keep the weekly finance section short and sharp.

• Burn multiple: Net burn divided by net new ARR.
• Runway: Months at current burn with and without hiring plan.
• Gross margin: Overall and by product line.
• Payback: Blended and by channel, including fully loaded CAC.

We run a monthly variance review against budget.
If variance exceeds 10% in two months, we revisit the plan.
That discipline protects runway and creates trust with the board.

For more on fundraising readiness and metrics, see our blog post: Capitaly.vc Blog.

12) People Operations: Headcount Plan and Hiring Funnel

People are the operating plan.
I put recruiting on the weekly dashboard because it is usually the silent blocker.

• Open roles: By function with priority tags.
• Time to hire: Median days from approval to accept.
• Hiring funnel: Screen→Hiring manager→Panel→Offer→Accept.
• Ramp velocity: Time to first quota or first shipped feature.

We also keep a simple RACI for each cross-functional initiative.
It prevents the classic “I thought you had it” trap.

13) The Meeting Stack: Daily, Weekly, Monthly, Quarterly

Meetings are expensive unless they are crisp.
Here is the stack I run and why.

• Daily standup (per team): 10 minutes for priorities and blockers.
• Weekly exec metrics: 60 minutes with shared dashboard.
• Monthly operating review: 90 minutes on roadmap, forecast, budget.
• Quarterly OKR review: Half-day to set and score OKRs.
• Monthly all-hands: 45 minutes to align the whole company.

Every meeting has a single owner, a doc, and a decision log.
If there are no decisions, kill the meeting.

14) Tooling the Stack: CRM, Data, Docs, Dashboards

Tools do not run the cadence.
People do.
But tools make it fast.
Here is the stack I recommend because it balances speed and rigor.

• CRM: HubSpot to start, Salesforce as you scale GTM complexity.
• Data: A single warehouse (Snowflake or BigQuery) and a simple dbt layer.
• BI: Looker, Metabase, or Sigma for the dashboard.
• Docs: Notion for OKRs and operating docs, with decision logs.
• Work: Asana or Linear for delivery tracking.

Non-negotiable.
All metrics on the weekly dashboard must come from system-of-record data.
No hand-edited slide decks.
No copy-paste errors.
Trust the data or fix the pipeline.

15) How to Stand Up the Cadence in 30 Days

You can implement this in 30 days without blowing up your calendar.
Here is my four-week plan.

• Week 1: Pick the CEO dashboard five numbers and align leaders on definitions.
• Week 2: Build the weekly dashboard MVP in your BI tool and run your first meeting.
• Week 3: Write Q-level OKRs that map to dashboard metrics and set team scorecards.
• Week 4: Lock the meeting stack and tool rules.
  Do a retro and patch the biggest leaks.

Ship the MVP and iterate.
You will never get it perfect on the first try.
But the act of shipping the cadence is what changes behavior.

16) Common Failure Modes and How I Fix Them

I see the same mistakes everywhere.
Here is how I fix them fast.

• Too many metrics: Cap the weekly dashboard at 30 rows company-wide.
• Vanity funnels: Replace MQL count with MQL→SQL conversion by channel.
• Unowned red metrics: Assign a single owner and a due date in-meeting.
• Slide decks: Kill slides.
  Use the live dashboard and a shared notes doc.
• OKR bloat: Maximum three objectives per team and three KRs per objective.

When in doubt, remove and simplify.
Focus is a feature, not a bug.

17) Running the Board With the Same Dashboard

Board meetings get easier when you run the business with the same dashboard.
No bespoke board packs.
No last-minute data scrambles.
Just the operating cadence on a longer time frame.

I do three things for the board.
Context: Start with the CEO dashboard five numbers and trend lines.
Variance: Explain what changed since last board and why.
Decisions: Ask for advice on two big calls, not ten small ones.

For more on board communication and fundraising narrative, see our blog post: Capitaly.vc Blog.

18) Remote and Hybrid Teams: Making the Cadence Stick

Distributed teams need the cadence even more.
It gives clarity, not control.
Here is how I make it stick remotely.

• Asynchronous prep: Owners update metrics and notes by EOD prior to the meeting.
• Recordings: Record the weekly meeting and tag owners in the notes.
• Time zones: Rotate meeting times quarterly to share the load.
• Decision log: Keep a Notion page that links decisions to metrics.

Transparency builds trust.
Trust accelerates speed.

19) Case Study: From 25 to 120 People Using This Cadence

At a B2B SaaS I advised, we rolled out this cadence at 25 people.
We kept it through 120 people.
Here is what happened.

• Sales: Pipeline coverage rose from 1.8x to 3.4x in two quarters.
• NRR: Moved from 104% to 124% by aligning product usage and CS plays.
• Burn multiple: Improved from 3.2 to 1.1 in 12 months while growing ARR 3x.
• Hiring: Time to hire dropped from 78 to 36 days with a standard funnel.

The biggest unlock was killing slide decks.
Leaders stopped performing and started improving.
We shipped more value, faster, with fewer meetings.

20) Adapting the Cadence for Pre-PMF vs Post-PMF

The cadence is not one-size-fits-all.
Pre-PMF companies should bias to learning.
Post-PMF should bias to scaling.
Here is how I adapt it.

Pre-PMF.
Weekly metrics focus.
Activation rate, retention curve for early cohorts, depth of usage, and qualitative insights.
OKRs focus.
Hypotheses tested, cycles run, and time-to-learning.
Meeting stack.
Shorter weekly with an extended product discovery review.

Post-PMF.
Weekly metrics focus.
ARR engine, pipeline, NRR, burn multiple, and hiring ramp.
OKRs focus.
Scaling the playbook, entering new segments, and reliability of delivery.
Meeting stack.
Full cadence with monthly operating reviews and QBR-style deep dives.

For more on navigating PMF and beyond, see our blog post: Capitaly.vc Blog.

How I Prioritize Metrics: A Simple Scoring Model

If you are drowning in metrics, score them.
I use a 1–5 scale on three dimensions and keep only the top ten.

• Signal: How predictive is it of core outcomes.
• Control: Can a team move it weekly.
• Cost: How hard is it to measure accurately.

Keep metrics with total score ≥11.
Everything else goes to monthly or is killed.
Less is more.

Thresholds, Targets, and RAG: Turning Numbers Into Decisions

Colors drive behavior.
I set three levels for each metric.
Threshold: The weekly “line in the sand” for green.
Target: The quarterly ambition that forces improvement.
Alert: The red line that triggers immediate escalation.

Example.
SQL→SAO conversion.
Threshold 40%.
Target 45%.
Alert 35%.
If we hit 35% for two weeks, the CRO and CMO co-own a recovery plan by Friday.

Linking Compensation to the Cadence Without Killing Culture

Compensation should support the cadence, not distort it.
I use three rules.

• Company outcomes: Everyone has a small bonus tied to one or two company metrics.
• Team metrics: Leaders have 2–3 metrics from the weekly dashboard in their variable comp.
• Cliff + sanity checks: Prevent edge-case gaming with a quality gate.

When metrics are clear and fair, comp drives alignment.
When metrics are messy, comp drives conflict.
Get the definitions right first.

Data Hygiene: The Unsexy Advantage

The cadence is only as good as your data hygiene.
I put a single owner on data quality with real authority.
We run weekly audits on key fields and close gaps fast.

• Required fields: Owner, stage, amount, close date, ICP tag, source.
• Validation: Enforce in CRM to stop garbage at the source.
• Audit: Random sample 20 opportunities weekly and publish error rate.

If error rate exceeds 5%, we pause new bells-and-whistles and fix the data.
It is that important.

Execution Framework vs Bureaucracy: The Difference Is Decisions

People fear frameworks because they fear red tape.
In this cadence, the test is simple.
Did the meeting produce decisions.
Did the dashboard change resource allocation.
If not, the process is performing, not helping.

I end each weekly meeting with two prompts.
What are we stopping this week.
What will we start this week because a metric says we must.
This keeps the cadence alive.

From Plan to Capital Plan: Tying Metrics to Fundraising

Investors fund systems, not slides.
When you operate with this cadence, your data room writes itself.
The CEO dashboard becomes your narrative spine.

• Story: Here is how we set OKRs, track weekly, and course-correct.
• Proof: Here are trend lines across pipeline, NRR, burn multiple, and cohorts.
• Use of funds: Here is the hiring plan and efficiency path this capital unlocks.

For more on fundraising preparation, see our blog post: Capitaly.vc Blog.

Cadence Audit: A 10-Point Health Check

Run this audit monthly to keep the system tight.

• Do we start with the CEO dashboard five numbers.
• Are all weekly metrics sourced from systems of record.
• Are thresholds, targets, and alerts defined and visible.
• Do red metrics get owners, root causes, and due dates in-meeting.
• Do OKRs map to weekly metrics without orphan KRs.
• Are decisions logged and linked to metrics.
• Is the sales forecast within 10% of actual two months in a row.
• Is marketing driving SAO quality, not just MQL volume.
• Are product commitments delivered within 10% variance.
• Is the burn multiple improving quarter over quarter.

FAQs

1) Is the David Sacks operating cadence overkill for a seed-stage startup.
No.
Use a lighter version with fewer metrics and a shorter meeting.
The discipline helps you find PMF faster.

2) How many metrics should be on the weekly dashboard.
Thirty rows maximum across the company.
Leaders get 5–7 each on their scorecards.

3) What if data is messy and late every week.
Assign a data owner and freeze a weekly data pull time.
Fix data pipelines before adding new metrics.

4) How do I avoid OKR theater.
Map each KR to a weekly metric.
Review progress weekly and drop KRs that do not move the business.

5) Can I run the cadence in Notion without BI.
Yes at small scale.
But move to a real BI tool once you feel friction or mistrust in numbers.

6) What is a good burn multiple for Series A–B.
1.0–1.5 is strong.
Sub-1.0 is elite at growth.
Above 2.0 means you are likely overspending for the ARR you create.

7) What are the best weekly CS KPIs.
NRR, GRR, time-to-value, health score, and renewal risk heatmap.
Track expansion pipeline, not just renewals.

8) How often should we change the CEO dashboard five numbers.
Rarely.
Revisit quarterly but change only if strategy changes.

9) What if a leader resists the cadence.
Set clear expectations and offer help.
If resistance persists, it is a values mismatch.
Change the seat or change the person.

10) How do I integrate AI metrics.
Track product usage tied to AI features, cost per inference, latency, and quality outcomes.
Make sure gross margin stays healthy as AI usage grows.

11) Should comp be tied to OKRs.
Partially.
Tie a small portion to company outcomes and team metrics.
Avoid tying comp to experimental KRs early in the quarter.

12) How do I keep the weekly meeting on time.
Timebox sections, cut slides, and escalate offline items.
End with a summary of decisions and owners.

Conclusion

The power of David Sacks’s operating cadence is focus and speed.
Weekly metrics force clarity.
OKRs connect strategy to reality.
The CEO dashboard keeps everyone aligned on the five numbers that matter.
If you implement the system with simple rules, accurate data, and crisp decisions, you will feel momentum in weeks, not months.
Start light, stay honest, and let the numbers lead.
When in doubt, remove, simplify, and decide.
That is how I run the david sacks operating cadence and how you can too.

Subscribe to Capitaly.vc Substack (https://capitaly.substack.com/) to raise capital at the speed of AI.