Let’s unpack a question I hear from a lot of leaders and frontline folks: What’s the difference between a KPI and a Priority? It sounds simple, but mixing them up can send teams spinning. Think of this as a friendly tune-up so everyone pulls in the same direction.

So what’s the real difference?

KPIs measure performance.
They tell you how something is doing. They help you spot trends, catch problems early, and stay honest about what’s really happening inside the business. If a KPI moves, you usually ask, “Why?” KPIs support decision making, and they stay consistent quarter to quarter unless something big changes in your business model.
Examples: Customer churn, NPS, SLA response time, units produced per hour.

Priorities drive action.
They describe the work that moves the business forward. A Priority changes the future. It’s a commitment your team makes to improve something, fix something, or build something. Priorities require action, alignment, and ownership.
Examples: Launching a new onboarding workflow, reducing turnaround time, cleaning up a backlog.

When do you use each?

Use KPIs when you want clarity. KPIs keep your team grounded in facts instead of guesses. They tell you if the routine parts of your business run smoothly.

Use Priorities when you want improvement. They give everyone a clear direction for the quarter, and they push the company toward those big, meaningful wins.

Scaling Up describes it this way: KPIs keep the machine running; Priorities upgrade the machine. That framing lines up nicely with how you organize them inside the software.

Best practices that make life easier

Keep KPIs steady. You want to measure trends, not chase shiny objects.

Assign clear owners. Whether it’s a KPI or a Priority, someone should feel responsible for it.

Tie KPIs to your Priorities. If a Priority doesn’t influence at least one KPI, you might be working on the wrong thing.

Keep the list short. Too many KPIs or too many Priorities create noise. A focused list creates momentum.

Review consistently. Use your Daily or Weekly Huddles to surface wins, blockers, and changes. The Align Academy has a helpful section on this here.

How the software helps

If you haven’t set up your KPIs or Priorities for the quarter, jump into your dashboard and give everything a quick refresh. The way the software separates KPIs and Priorities mirrors the way high-performing companies operate. Once they live in the platform, the whole team sees what matters most today and what will move the business tomorrow.

If you want a deeper dive into building solid KPIs and Quarterly Priorities join us for Ask Align!