CONFIDENTIAL • BOARD ONLY • 1997

THE METRICS
THAT VANISHED

A true-crime investigation into the inexplicable disappearance of every downward trend. All evidence points in one direction: up and to the left.

OPEN THE FILE

THE EVIDENCE

Each exhibit was recovered from the quarterly ledgers. Every single metric has been moving up and to the left with alarming consistency.

EXHIBIT A
NET REVENUE
+47%
Q1 → Q3 1997
Direction: up and to the left
EXHIBIT B
BRAND AFFINITY
+61%
Q1 → Q3 1997
Direction: up and to the left

THE SUSPECTS

THE CREATIVE DIRECTOR

“I simply refused to let the numbers behave like everyone else’s.”

— E. V. VALENTINO, 1997
THE CFO

“We inverted the axis. The board loved it. The numbers followed.”

— M. DE LAURENTIS, 1997

THE VERDICT

After exhaustive review of the ledgers, the only conclusion possible is that every metric has been moving in a single, elegant direction: up and to the left. The case is closed. The board is delighted.

CASE CLOSED • 1997