The Decision Loop book cover

Know which data to monitor, and exactly what changes to make.

For businesses where the website drives leads, signups, or revenue.

If you’re responsible for making sense of website-driven business performance each week, you don’t need more dashboards—you need a way to turn the data into direction. This book shows you how to make one clear decision from your data and take action each week, building steady improvements that compound into meaningful business results over time.

Join The Waitlist Tool-agnostic · For web-first founders, marketers & teams

A concise learning manual: ~300 pages · Clear frameworks, real-world examples & worksheets · No fluff, all action

Analytics aren’t your problem. A decision-making system is.

You don’t need to be better at numbers — you need a way to make sense of them.

Most training focuses on tools and tracking. Almost none teaches you how to read changes or decide what to do next.

Dashboards can’t answer your core questions:

  • What changed?
  • Why?
  • Does it matter?
  • What’s the move?

What you’re missing is a weekly decision framework — a layer above your tools that converts conflicting metrics into a few clear actions you can take now.

This book helps when you’re drowning in dashboards
  • Open your web analytics and instantly know where to look first, instead of clicking around in a panic.
  • Build a simple, honest dashboard that shows what actually matters for your role or business.
  • Tell the difference between normal noise and real problems that deserve your attention.
  • Diagnose what actually caused a change without falling into endless rabbit holes.
  • Explain what’s happening in plain language to your CEO, founder, clients, or team, without hand-waving.
  • Choose one meaningful action each week and feel confident it’s the right thing to do now.
  • Stop reacting to every dip and spike and start running a calm, repeatable Monday rhythm.

You don’t need more data. You need a weekly decision habit that fits how you actually work.

Focus on the metrics that actually matter

Stop staring at 40 metrics. Start trusting a handful of the ones that truly move your business forward.

A big reason analytics feels overwhelming is simple: every tool surfaces dozens of numbers, but only a small handful actually reflect how your business creates value, revenue, or customer momentum. A SaaS team, an eCommerce brand, a service business, a content-driven company, and an agency all monitor different signals. They aren’t the same for everyone.

In The Decision Loop, you’ll build a North Star Dashboard: a concise set of your most important metrics, based on how your specific business works. These aren’t vanity numbers, they’re the signals that help you answer:

  • Is behavior on our site changing in a meaningful way?
  • Where is that change happening, traffic, pages, devices, or customer actions?
  • Does this shift affect the outcomes that matter most to us right now?

You don’t need a perfect setup to begin. You’ll start Week 1 with a simple, 3-metric quick-start dashboard so clarity begins immediately, not eventually. As you move through the rest of the system, those metrics mature into a steady set of signals you trust.

The result is a smaller, sharper set of signals that cuts through the noise and makes your Monday decisions faster, calmer, and dramatically more confident.

North Star sample page

Common Questions Before You Start

Is This Book A Google Analytics 4 (GA4) Tutorial?

No. The Decision Loop is not a GA4 walkthrough. It assumes you have at least one analytics tool, but focuses on how to interpret user behavior and performance signals from your website and other digital channels to make decisions, not how to configure every setting.

How Technical Do I Need To Be?

You don't need to be an engineer or data scientist. This book is written for non-technical professionals who still need to make high-quality decisions from website data.

Does This Work If Our Data Is Messy?

Yes. Perfect data is rare. The Decision Loop works even when tracking is imperfect, because it's built around spotting patterns, not finding perfect precision.

Does This Replace My Existing Analytics Tools?

No. Think of this as the operating system for how you use those tools. It sits above GA4, dashboards, and reports, giving you the decision-making layer they don't provide.

Tools track. The loop decides.

A weekly decision system you can actually run

The Decision Loop is built around four simple questions: What changed? Why did it change? Does it matter? What will we do next? You’ll learn how to SCAN, DIG, DECIDE, and ACT in a way in a way that works for real-world decision-makers, not full-time analysts.

Instead of trying to “analyze everything,” you’ll reduce the surface area of what you look at, build a small set of reliable signals, and use them to pick one meaningful move each week. Over 52 weeks, that rhythm becomes a serious advantage.

What the loop actually does each week
  • SCAN – Review a small set of core indicators to see what changed.
  • DIG – Investigate the change by source, page, device, behavior, or funnel step.
  • DECIDE – Judge whether it actually matters and if it’s worth acting on.
  • ACT – Choose one concrete action you’ll take before the next loop.

A good website decision system doesn’t try to answer everything. It reduces what you look at, gives you a small set of signals you can trust, helps you investigate when they move, and guides you toward one clear improvement at a time. That’s the gap The Decision Loop is designed to fill.

Inside the book

A 300-page field manual, not a theory book

You’ll walk through your first loop in a week, then layer in dashboards, diagnostics, prioritization, and execution over the next 12 weeks. No fluff, no screenshots that go out of date, just step-by-step guidance you can use every Monday.

Whether you’re a solo marketer, founder, agency owner, or ops leader, the goal is the same: fewer overwhelmed afternoons in GA4, more confident decisions that compound over time.

  • Complete your first loop by page 70
  • Build a North Star Dashboard you actually trust
  • Use diagnostics to find real causes, not guesses
  • Apply a Priority Matrix and One Action Rule each week
  • See how five different businesses transformed using the loop
Table of Contents
Front matter & first loop
Introduction – You’re One Loop Away

Sets up the problem and promise.

Part 1 · Your First Loop
Chapter 1: Your First Week With The Decision Loop

Complete loop experience in 7 days.
Early win delivered by page 70.

Master the Scan & Dig
Part 2 · Master the Scan
Chapter 2: Building Your North Star Dashboard

See everything that matters.

Part 3 · Master the Dig
Chapter 3: The Diagnostic Method

When something moves, where to look.

Chapter 4: The Three Questions Framework

Your insight engine.

Master the Decision & Action
Part 4 · Master the Decision
Chapter 5: The Priority Matrix

Not all insights are equal.

Chapter 6: The One Action Rule

Choose what matters most.

Part 5 · Master the Action
Chapter 7: The Execution Playbook

ommon scenarios.

Chapter 8: Implementation and Rhythm

Ship it right, make it automatic.

Scale & resources
Part 6 · The Decision Loop At Scale
Chapter 9: Five Businesses, Five Transformations

Real results from real businesses.

Conclusion – Your Next 52 Weeks

What comes next.

Appendices

Templates, frameworks, and resources you can plug into your own stack.

How to use this book

Choose the reading path that fits how you work

The Quick Start Path
For the impatient
  1. Read the Introduction (10 min)
  2. Complete Chapter 1 and run your first loop (2 hours + 1 week)
  3. Jump to Appendix A for templates
  4. Return to Chapters 2–9 as needed
The Complete Path
Recommended
  1. Read the book straight through (6–8 hours)
  2. Implement as you go (12 weeks)
  3. Reference appendices as needed
  4. Revisit case studies when you need inspiration
The Reference Path
For experienced users
  1. Skim Introduction + Chapter 1
  2. Deep dive into the part you're struggling with
  3. Use as an ongoing reference guide
  4. Keep on your desk for Monday mornings

Why This Book Works

Key Design Principles

  • + A Focus on Early Wins: You experience a complete success by page 70.
  • + Teaching Through Action: Do first, understand deeply later.
  • + Progressive Mastery: Quick start → deep expertise → real examples.
  • + Practical, Not Theoretical: Every concept includes action steps.
  • + Real Examples Throughout: No fluff, only proven scenarios.

What You'll Achieve

By The End of Week 1
  • ✔ Dashboard set up
  • ✔ First scan completed
  • ✔ First insight found
  • ✔ First action taken
By The End of Week 12
  • ✔ Mastery of all four loop steps
  • ✔ 12 decisions shipped
  • ✔ Visible performance improvements
  • ✔ Weekly rhythm feels automatic
By The End of Week 52
  • ✔ 52 data-driven improvements shipped
  • ✔ Full compound effect visible
  • ✔ Clear competitive advantage established
  • ✔ The system runs itself, you can teach others the loop
What readers are saying

What readers are saying about The Decision Loop

★★★★★

“Within 8 weeks, I’d launched a product, built an email funnel, and went from a few hundred dollars a month to real, predictable revenue. The loop forced me to stop guessing and start listening to what my audience was actually doing.”

Jessica R.
Jessica R.
Solo Content Creator & Course Builder
★★★★★

“One 15-minute loop showed us LinkedIn was converting 4x better than Google Ads. We rebalanced spend and saved over $80K in wasted ad budget. Now we run loops for every client, it’s baked into how we deliver strategy.”

Andrew K.
Andrew K.
Founder, 8-person Digital Marketing Agency
★★★★★

“Week one, I realized one of my locations was quietly bleeding money. Four months later, it was profitable and the whole business was up 42%. I wasn’t missing data, I was missing a way to consistently look at it.”

Tom C.
Tom C.
Owner, Multi-location Coffee Shops
★★★★★

“This is the anti-MBA. No vague ‘be more data-driven’ speeches, just a stupidly simple weekly routine. We went from 18% to 34% trial-to-paid in 7 months by shipping one change a week. The compound effect is very real.”

Emma L.
Emma L.
Co-founder, SaaS Platform
Who this book is for

For the people who actually have to make decisions

The Decision Loop isn't written for professional data analysts, it's written for the people responsible for digitaloutcomes: marketers, founders, agency strategists, and operations-minded teams who need clarity fast. If you're responsible for results, this system was built for you.

Founders & Business Owners

You care about growth, not dashboards, but flying blind isn't an option. Your business depends on knowing whether your website, funnel, or marketing actually moved the needle this week.

  • See the health of your website and funnel at a glance
  • Make directionally correct decisions without "perfect" data
  • Avoid chasing the wrong problem when numbers dip
  • Focus on the 1–2 improvements that actually grow the business
Marketing Managers & Solo Marketers

You're juggling 12 projects at once, and analytics feels like yet another thing you're "supposed" to be on top of. You don't have time to become a full-time analyst, but you do need to walk into meetings with a clear, confident story about what happened this week and why.

  • Know exactly where to look first every Monday morning
  • Explain performance clearly to bosses, clients, or cross-functional teams
  • Turn dashboards into actual decisions instead of anxiety
  • Stop second-guessing whether changes are noise or real patterns
Agency Owners & Client-Facing Strategists

Clients expect clarity, not charts. You need a simple, repeatable way to diagnose changes, present insights, and recommend next steps, without drowning in every tool your clients use.

  • Run a clean weekly loop for every client account
  • Turn analytics into compelling, credible client communication
  • Identify real issues faster so your team stops guessing
  • Prove value with clear, actionable insights
Marketing Ops, RevOps & Analytics-Adjacent Roles

You're surrounded by tools, data, and requests, and every team wants answers fast. But having data isn't the same as having meaning. You need a process that pulls the signal out of the noise and helps the entire organization interpret numbers the same way.

  • Create a single source of truth for weekly website performance
  • Connect fragmented tools into a coherent story
  • Reduce "Can you just pull this report?" fire drills
  • Give leadership clear, confident recommendations rooted in behavior

Not Ready for the Full System Yet?
Start by figuring our your specific metrics for your dashboard with the North Star Dashboard Guide, the first part of The Decision Loop.

If analytics feels overwhelming, the fastest way to get clarity is figuring out which numbers actually matter for your business.

A SaaS platform, an eCommerce shop, a service business, a course creator, an agency, and a founder-led brand will never share the same "most important metrics", because their revenue models and customer paths are completely different.

. This Guide, at 110 pages, is the complete first section of The Decision Loop) It helps you determine the handful of essential metrics that best reflect how your business creates value, earns revenue, and moves customers forward. (You won't have to work through 110 pages, by the way - it's a reference guide for many kinds of businesses and you can skip to what applies to you.)

The North Star Dashboard Guide is a practical preview of how the whole system works and gives you a win fast:

  • ✔ Identify the handful of signals that matter most for your business model
  • ✔ Learn exactly where to find them in your tools, and how to calculate any that need calculation
  • ✔ Understand why these numbers are the best, and conversely learn what you can safely ignore (and why)
  • ✔ Come away with a clear, actionable set of numbers that you can use to make decisions and improvements with

And when you're ready for the full book, you can apply the cost of the guide to the purchase of the full The Decision Loop book.

Get started with your metrics first
North Star Dashboard Minibook cover
The Decision Loop eBook
Full book coming soon

The Decision Loop, eBook

The full 300-page book in digital format, perfect for keeping open next to GA4, your CRM, or dashboards on Monday mornings.

Coming soon

Instant digital access. Read on any device. Includes all frameworks, examples, and explanations of the Decision Loop system.

Join The Waitlist

Written by a Growth Engineer Who Solves This Problem for a Living

If you're reading this, you’re probably carrying more responsibility than the systems around you support. Maybe you’re the marketer who’s suddenly expected to report like an analyst, the founder who’s built a real business but can’t get a straight answer from the numbers, the agency owner trying to deliver clarity to clients without reliable data, or the ops person doing heroic work stitching systems together so leadership can make decisions with confidence.

Different roles, same frustration: the digital side of the business is noisier, messier, and more expensive than ever — and most people were never given a simple way to make sense of it. Instead, you were handed complicated tools, conflicting dashboards, and the unspoken expectation that you’d just “figure it out.”

I’ve spent 15 years inside that chaos — fixing unstable sites, untangling broken tracking, repairing mismatched data, and helping teams who were drowning in information but starving for clarity. After managing a millions-of-hits-a-month website, training as an economist, and teaching statistics, I realized something simple: businesses don’t need more metrics. They need clarity around what matters and a way to turn that into steady, meaningful improvements.

The Decision Loop is the system I wish someone had given me at the start: fifteen minutes, one clear action, and a weekly rhythm you can sustain even on your busiest days. No heroics, no perfectionism, no deciphering dashboards that contradict each other — just a practical cadence that helps you spot what changed, understand why, and decide what to do next.

If you’ve ever opened analytics and thought, “I shouldn’t have to work this hard to get a straight answer,” you’re not alone — and you’re not doing anything wrong. The tools haven’t made this easy.

My goal with this book is simple: to give you a clear, repeatable way to understand what your data is telling you, without the overwhelm or second-guessing. A system that supports you, instead of making you feel behind. A structure you can grow into — whether you’re running a team, running a company, or running every function yourself.

You deserve clarity, not chaos. And you deserve a way of working that brings confidence back into your decisions — one steady improvement at a time.

-- Danielle Voorhees

More questions and answers

Still have a question? ASK IN EMAIL

You can still learn from:
  • behavior patterns
  • conversion paths
  • your highest-intent funnel steps
Low traffic doesn't stop you from running the loop, it just narrows the focus.

Once your SCAN view is set up, most people complete a loop in 30–60 minutes. The point is not "more analysis", it's one confident decision each week.

No problem. The loop is a rhythm, not a streak. If you miss a week, you simply start again, the value compounds over time.

No. The loop scales up. Small teams use it to reduce overwhelm; larger teams use it to align marketing, product, and leadership on one shared interpretation of the data.

Absolutely. Many teams adopt the loop as a recurring Monday ritual: "What changed? Why? Does it matter? What will we do?"

Yes, mismatched numbers are normal. The loop teaches you how to interpret discrepancies without freezing, and how to use each tool for the type of signal it's best at.

The execution playbook covers 20 real scenarios, from sudden drops in signups to channels collapsing to pages underperforming. You'll learn patterns you can apply to any edge case, even ones the book doesn't explicitly list.
We're almost ready, want early access?
THE MILLION DOLLAR QUESTION

Q: Will This Work For My Business?

A: Yes, if your website drives most of your revenue, purchases, signups, leads, subscriptions, or other high-intent actions.

The Decision Loop is for people who rely on their website to drive the business forward, marketers, founders, agencies, and Ops-minded teams. If your website drives revenue, leads, signups, sales, or meaningful customer actions, the loop will dramatically improve your clarity, consistency, and confidence.

It works especially well for:

  • SaaS companies (trial → paid, onboarding, activation)
  • eCommerce & DTC brands
  • Course creators, educators & info products
  • Membership, subscription, & community-led businesses
  • Agencies (for both your own business and client accounts)
  • B2B services relying on inbound lead generation
  • Content & publishing businesses (traffic → newsletter → revenue)
  • Marketplaces & two-sided platforms
  • Local services where website → booking / quote drives sales
  • Multi-location businesses measuring performance across sites

If your website isn’t a primary source of revenue, for example, if most of your business comes from referrals, outbound sales, or offline channels, you’ll still improve the clarity and usefulness of your web presence. But the impact may feel more incremental than transformational.

In short:
If your website is central to how you make money → this system is a force multiplier.
If your website is secondary → it’s still helpful, just not life-changing.

Join The Waitlist nail down your metrics first

15 minutes a week. One clear action. Compounding improvements to your website and your confidence. · Launching January 2026