The WBR survival guide

Your calendar notification pops up. "WBR - Senior Leadership." You're invited to the weekly business review for the first time. You're a director now. This is what directors do.

You walk into a room with twenty-five people. The VP is flipping through a dense deck of charts. Numbers scroll by. Someone says "Week over week we're down 8%, but the 12-month trend is holding." Someone else says "This is within normal variation." The VP nods and moves on. Thirty seconds per chart. Hundreds of charts to go.

You have no idea what just happened. You don't know what variation they're talking about. You don't know what the control limits are. You don't even know how to read the charts because they're in a format you've never seen before.

Welcome to the WBR.

In the early days of AWS, I used to marvel at Andy Jassy and Adam Selipsky as they ran the weekly metrics meeting. I saw how the best operators used these meetings to catch problems early and drive accountability. I also knew that most of the time I had no idea what was going on. I was way out of my depth.

This is the guide I wish someone had handed me before my first WBR.

What a WBR actually is

The Weekly Business Review is an operational cadence. Every week, at the same time, the leadership team reviews the same set of metrics in the same format. The goal is to develop operational intuition for the business. If you look at the same data, in the same way, every week for months or years, you start to notice when something is off. You can spot a problem in a chart before anyone has to explain it to you.

The WBR is not a strategy meeting. It's not a planning meeting. It's not a place to pitch ideas or propose new initiatives. It's an operational meeting. The question is simple: what happened last week, and is it what we expected?

For all the stress and preparation it requires, the WBR works. Maybe more precisely, because of the stress and preparation, the WBR works. Companies that run operational reviews well catch problems early. They don't wait for quarterly reviews to discover that something went wrong two months ago. They find out last Wednesday. And they fix it before it compounds.

The methodology behind it

The operational review draws on three management disciplines taught in business schools worldwide. (For the record, I'm a college dropout.)

The first is the Balanced Scorecard's distinction between leading indicators and lagging indicators. Leading indicators measure activities you can control. Lagging indicators measure outcomes you care about. The relationship between them is causal.

The second is Six Sigma's DMAIC methodology: Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, Control. Each weekly review is one iteration of this cycle. You measure the current state, analyze why variation occurred, improve the process, and control the improvement over time.

The third is statistical process control, developed by Shewhart and Deming. This framework teaches you to distinguish normal variation from genuine anomalies. Not every fluctuation requires action. Some variation is just noise. The discipline is knowing which is which.

Companies may employ different terimonology for these, but fundamentally, they are the operating system of the WBR.

Key terms

Before we go further, here's a quick reference for the vocabulary you'll hear.

• Leading indicator. A metric you can directly influence. Activities. Actions. Things you do.
• Lagging indicator. A metric that shows results. Revenue. Churn. Satisfaction. Outcomes.
• Control limits. The statistical bounds of normal variation. Usually two to three standard deviations from the mean.
• Common cause variation. Normal fluctuation inherent to the system. It shows up every week. Don't overreact to it.
• Special cause variation. Abnormal deviation caused by something outside the normal system. Investigate this.
• RAG status. Red, amber, green. A traffic light classification for quick visual assessment.

You'll hear these terms (or their equivalents in your company) constantly. Learn them.

The format you'll see

Most WBRs use standardized formats. When every chart looks the same, you don't waste brainpower figuring out how to read it. You spend your attention on what the chart says.

The opening summary

Some organizations open with a balanced summary. Each function names one thing going well, one thing at risk, and one thing broken. This takes two minutes and sets context before the detailed review begins. It also distributes speaking time. Owners present their own items rather than the leader narrating.

This format forces honesty. You can't hide behind a sea of charts when you've just told the room your biggest problem out loud.

The 2x2

Each business unit or function typically presents a single page, split into four quadrants:

1. Business update. Key performance trends. Not just what happened, but "so what." What does this number mean for the business?
2. Top-level OKR status. Where do we stand against the goals we committed to?
3. Key metrics. Current values, targets, and trends. Usually shown as a table or set of sparklines.
4. Risks and challenges. What's going wrong? What might go wrong? What do we need help with?

The VP or GM for each area is prepared to speak to their 2x2. If someone asks a question, they should be able to answer it on the spot. If they can't, that's a problem.

The 6-12 chart

The signature visualization in Amazon-style WBRs is the 6-12 chart. Left side shows the trailing six weeks. Right side shows the trailing twelve months. Same metric, two time horizons.

The power is in the comparison. A 5% weekly dip looks alarming on the left. But if you're up 169% year-over-year on the right, that dip is noise. The 6-12 format forces you to see both the short-term fluctuation and the long-term trend before you react.

Most charts also include a faded line showing last year's data. This makes year-over-year comparison instant. Below the chart, you'll see "box scores" with month-to-date, quarter-to-date, and year-to-date totals. A bad week doesn't matter if the quarter is on track.

Cedric Chin wrote the definitive breakdown of the 6-12 format and the WBR more broadly in The Amazon Weekly Business Review. If you want to understand the mechanics deeply, read that post. It covers the chart format, the meeting structure, and the epistemological thinking behind why Amazon built the WBR this way.

RAG status

Most organizations use a traffic light system: red (outside control limits), amber (approaching limits), green (within expected range). This RAG status lets leaders scan dozens of metrics in seconds.

The rule many operators follow: if a metric stays red for two consecutive periods, it requires an action plan with an owner and a deadline. No more watching and waiting.

Standardization is the point

Everything looks the same on purpose. Same colors. Same fonts. Same axis formatting. Same order of metrics. When the format is consistent, the anomalies pop. You're not reading the chart. You're scanning for special cause variation.

Leading indicators versus lagging indicators

The distinction between leading and lagging indicators is the concept that makes WBRs work.

Lagging indicators are results. Revenue. Conversion rate. Churn. Customer satisfaction scores. These are the numbers that tell you whether you won or lost.

Leading indicators are activities. Number of features shipped. Ad spend. Emails sent. Content published. Sales calls made. These are the things you can directly control.

The relationship between them is causal. If you make more sales calls (leading), you should close more deals (lagging). If you publish more content (leading), you should drive more traffic (lagging). If you increase ad spend (leading), you should generate more leads (lagging).

The reason this matters: you can't directly move a lagging indicator. You can only move leading indicators and hope the outcome follows. If your conversion rate drops, yelling at it won't help. You have to figure out which leading indicator changed, or which one needs to change, to get the result back.

In a WBR, you review both. But the action items always come back to leading indicators. "What are you going to do differently next week?" The answer is always an activity. More outbound. Fewer bugs. Faster response times. Changed copy. Added features.

Over time, you learn which leading indicators actually drive which outcomes. Some you thought mattered don't. Some you ignored turn out to be critical. The WBR is where you discover these relationships, week after week, until your intuition catches up with reality.

Atomic versus compound metrics

One more distinction. Some metrics are compound, built from several underlying factors. Revenue per customer combines volume, pricing, and mix. CAC payback period combines customer acquisition cost, gross margin, and lifetime value.

You cannot directly move a compound metric. You move its components.

When reviewing performance, trace compound metrics back to their atomic components. Accountability belongs at the atomic level. If someone owns "CAC payback period," they actually own five different things. Make sure they know which lever is stuck.

The exception-based mindset

400 metrics. 60 minutes. That's nine seconds per metric if you discuss each one.

You don't. You focus on special cause variation.

Statistical process control distinguishes two types of variation. Common cause variation is inherent to the system. It shows up every week. Signups fluctuate between 900 and 1,100. That's just noise. Trying to explain each instance is a waste of time. You address common cause variation only through systemic changes.

Special cause variation comes from something outside the normal system. A campaign launched. A server went down. A competitor dropped prices. This is what you investigate and explain.

The discipline is knowing which is which. If signups hit 950, that's common cause variation. You don't need to explain it. But 700? That's special cause variation. Something happened. Find it.

Metric owners are expected to know their control limits. When their metric comes up in the WBR, they should be able to say "nothing to see here" if the number is within range. Or they should be ready to explain what happened if it's not.

The VP doesn't want a tour of every metric. They want to know: what broke? What's at risk? What needs escalation? If everything is fine, move on.

A well-run operational review is a decision-making meeting, not a status update. Every piece of special cause variation discussed should end with a decision: who owns the fix, what they will do, when it will be done. If the meeting ends without decisions, the meeting failed.

This is why preparation matters so much. You need to look at your metrics before the meeting. You need to understand why each number moved. You need to know whether it's noise or signal. If you show up unprepared and can't explain a variance, you look incompetent.

Keep operational and strategic separate

The WBR is an operational meeting. It asks: what happened, and is it what we expected?

Strategic meetings ask a different question: should we change what we're doing?

Keep them separate. When you mix strategy discussions into an operational review, the operational discipline erodes. Someone proposes a new initiative. Someone else has an opinion. Suddenly you're debating priorities instead of reviewing performance. The metrics stop getting attention.

Take strategy debates offline. The WBR is for surfacing problems and committing to actions. If a discussion turns strategic, the leader should cut it off. "Good topic. Let's schedule time to discuss it. Next chart."

How to prepare as a marketer

Here's what I did before every WBR.

Know your metrics cold

You should know every metric you own without looking at a chart. What was last week's number? What was the week before? What's the target? What's your month-to-date? Year-to-date?

This sounds excessive. It's not. When someone asks you a question, you need to answer immediately. Fumbling for data kills your credibility.

I kept a one-page cheat sheet that I updated the morning of every WBR. It had my top ten metrics with current values, week-over-week change, and trend direction. I could glance at it under the table if I needed to.

Understand the why

For any metric that moved significantly, you need to know why. "It went up" isn't an answer. "We launched the new campaign on Tuesday and saw 30% more traffic from paid channels" is an answer.

If you don't know why a number moved, find out before the meeting. Call the data team. Check your analytics. Talk to your team. The worst thing you can do is shrug when someone asks.

Know your leading indicators and their status

If you own a lagging indicator, you also own the leading indicators that drive it. Know the status of each one. If signups are down, what happened to traffic? To conversion rate? To the number of campaigns running? To the content calendar?

When someone asks what you're doing about a problem, you should be able to point to specific changes you're making to the leading indicators.

Anticipate the questions

Before the meeting, look at your metrics from the VP's perspective. What would concern them? What would they want to drill into? What's the worst number on your page?

Prepare for those questions specifically. Have the data ready. Have the explanation ready. Have the action plan ready.

Arrive early

Get there before the meeting starts. Watch the room. See who's talking to whom. Notice the energy level. Sometimes you can tell before the meeting begins whether it's going to be a calm week or a bloodbath.

How to follow along when you're new

For your first few WBRs, your job is to observe and learn. Don't try to contribute. Just absorb.

Watch the charts, not the people

Most of your attention should be on the screen. Learn to read the 6-12 format. Start to notice what "normal" looks like for each metric. Pay attention to which metrics get more discussion and which get skipped.

Listen for patterns

Notice how people talk about variation. What phrases do they use? "Within control limits." "Common cause variation." "Special cause, we're investigating." This is the vocabulary of the meeting. Learn it.

Notice how people handle questions. The good operators answer directly, with data, in one or two sentences. The weak operators ramble, make excuses, or deflect. Model the first group.

Take notes on special cause variation

Write down every instance of special cause variation that gets discussed. What was the metric? What was the deviation? What was the explanation? What was the action item?

After the meeting, review your notes. This is how you learn what matters. Over time, you'll start to predict which deviations will get attention and which will be waved through.

Ask questions afterward

If you didn't understand something, don't ask during the meeting. Ask afterward. Find someone who presented and ask them to explain. Most people are happy to teach if you approach them the right way.

"I'm new to the WBR and I noticed the VP spent a lot of time on the 6-week traffic trend. Can you help me understand why that was concerning?" That's a good question. You'll learn something, and you'll build a relationship.

How to contribute when you're ready

After a few months, you'll start to see patterns. You'll have context. Now you can contribute.

Only speak when you have something useful to say

The WBR is not a place to show that you're smart. It's a place to surface information that others need to hear. If you don't have that, stay quiet.

Useful contributions include:

• Data that explains special cause variation someone else is discussing
• A connection between metrics that others haven't made
• Early warning of a problem that will show up next week
• A clarifying question that helps the whole room understand

Unhelpful contributions include:

• Restating what was just said
• Asking questions you could have answered yourself with prep
• Speculating without data
• Defending your team when you should be acknowledging a problem

Be direct

If you're going to speak, be direct. "Traffic is down 15% week over week because the paid campaign paused on Friday. It's back up now and we expect to recover by end of week." That's it. No preamble. No hedging. Facts, cause, prognosis.

Own your misses

If you missed a target or something on your watch broke, own it. "We missed the signup target by 20%. The landing page conversion dropped after Tuesday's deploy. We rolled it back this morning. I expect us to recover next week, but we've lost the week."

Excuses make you look weak. Ownership makes you look competent. The VP knows things go wrong. What they want to see is that you know what went wrong, you know why, and you're fixing it.

Propose actions, not explanations

When discussing a problem, end with what you're going to do. "We're adding 50% more paid spend to the performing channels" is better than "We're investigating the root cause." Investigation is fine, but action is better.

What to learn from watching leaders

The best part of attending WBRs is watching senior leaders operate. Pay attention to how they think.

They see connections

A great leader will notice that traffic is flat but signups are up and ask "Did conversion improve, or is the mix shifting?" They're not just looking at one number. They're looking at how numbers relate.

They calibrate constantly

They know what normal looks like. When a number feels wrong, they ask about it, even if it's within the printed target. "That seems high. Is that real or is there a data issue?" Over time, they develop intuition that's faster than analysis.

They focus on the future

Good operators don't dwell on what went wrong last week. They want to know what's happening next week. "What's the impact going forward? What are you doing about it? When will we see the recovery?"

This also catches a common manipulation. The oldest trick is hitting this quarter's goals by failing to invest in activities that would drive next quarter's growth. Leaders who ask about the future catch this.

They use the meeting to drive accountability

Every instance of special cause variation should have an owner and an action item. If something is discussed without clear next steps, they'll push until there's a commitment. "Who's owning this? When will we have an update?"

What the WBR teaches you

Beyond surviving the meeting, the WBR instills a discipline that makes you better at your job.

You learn to measure what matters

When you know you'll be asked about a number every week, you get very good at understanding that number. You start to see the leading indicators that drive it. You build dashboards that make the connections visible. You stop tracking vanity metrics and start tracking predictive ones.

You learn to diagnose fast

Week after week of explaining variances teaches you how to diagnose problems quickly. You develop a mental model of how things break. When something goes wrong, you know where to look first.

You learn to commit to actions

The WBR forces you to say what you're going to do. And next week, you'll be asked whether you did it. This closes the loop on accountability. You stop making vague plans. You start making specific commitments.

Each weekly review is one iteration of the DMAIC cycle: you measure, analyze, improve, and control. Over time, this discipline becomes automatic.

You learn the business

Over time, you understand not just your own metrics but everyone's. You see how sales and marketing and product and ops all connect. You develop a cross-functional view that most people never get. This makes you more valuable in every role you'll ever have.

Bringing the discipline to your own team

Even if your company doesn't run WBRs, you can bring the discipline to your own work.

Pick your five most important metrics. Create a simple weekly format. Review them every Monday morning. Look for special cause variation. Understand the why. Commit to actions.

Do this for three months and you'll know your business better than anyone around you.

The vocabulary and format of a WBR aren't magic. The magic is the discipline of looking at the same numbers, the same way, every single week, until you can see what's happening before anyone has to tell you.