The ultimate test of effective metrics isn't the data you collect—it's whether you can tell your value story clearly and compellingly when it matters most. Your Board, CEO, and business leaders don't have time for 30-slide decks or metric minutiae. They need to see your strategic impact at a glance. This guide provides a framework for creating a single, powerful slide that demonstrates how legal protects and enables the business across all four value pillars.
Why One Slide Matters: The Reality Check
Your Board meeting agenda gives you 10 minutes. Your CEO scans presentations in 30 seconds. Your CFO wants the bottom line immediately. If you can't communicate your value in one compelling visual, your message gets lost—no matter how impressive your metrics are.
What One Slide Forces You To Do
- Prioritize what truly matters versus what's merely interesting
- Connect legal's work directly to business outcomes
- Translate legal terminology into business language
- Show the full scope of value across all four spinning plates (Effective, Efficient, Protect, Enable)
The Four Spinning Plates Framework
Your one slide must demonstrate balanced performance across all dimensions of legal's value:
Effective - Quality of legal advice and service delivery
Key message: We deliver excellent legal support
Efficient - Smart use of resources and budget management
Key message: We optimize our investment
Protect - Risk management and compliance
Key message: We keep the business safe
Enable - Supporting business growth and strategic initiatives
Key message: We drive business success
Building Your One-Slide Story
Step 1: Select Your Hero Metrics
Choose 2-3 metrics per plate—the ones that best demonstrate impact. These should be selected from your own metrics and results but examples are included below to illustrate the process:
Effective Metrics (Choose 2-3)
- Stakeholder satisfaction score
- Number of matters handled
- Response time performance
- Quality ratings from business users
Efficient Metrics (Choose 2-3)
- Legal spend as % of revenue
- Internal vs. external spend ratio
- Budget performance (met/under/over)
- Cost per matter trends
Protect Metrics (Choose 2-3)
- Litigation outcomes/settlements
- Regulatory compliance rate
- Risk assessment completion
- Number of risks identified and mitigated
Enable Metrics (Choose 2-3)
- Product launches supported
- Strategic deals completed
- Business initiatives enabled
- Training sessions delivered to business
Step 2: Add Context with Comparisons
Raw numbers mean nothing without context. For each metric, show:
- Trend: Are we improving? (vs. last year)
- Benchmark: How do we compare? (vs. industry average)
- Target: Are we meeting goals? (vs. objective)
Example:
- "Stakeholder satisfaction: 8.1/10 (vs. 7.5 last year, industry avg 7.8)"
- "Legal spend: 0.18% of revenue (vs. 0.16% industry average for similar-sized organizations)"
Step 3: Choose Your Visual Format
Option A: Dashboard Style Four quadrants, one per plate, with 2-3 key metrics each using simple visuals (numbers, gauges, trend arrows)
Option B: Integrated Narrative Single visual flow showing how the four pillars connect, with metrics integrated into the story
Option C: Scorecard Style Clean table format with metrics, actuals, targets, and status indicators
Testing Your One Slide
Before presenting to the Board, test your slide to make sure the key messages are immediately clear, that it conveys value and business impact and that it connects clearly to ‘what next?’. Do this with a friendly executive who understand what you are trying to achieve and ask if the CEO, CFO and other personas in your target audience would understand key messages in 30 seconds.
Remember: Your one slide isn't about showing everything you do—it's about showing the right things that demonstrate legal's strategic value to the business. Less is more when it tells a powerful story.
You've collected the data—now bring it to life. Use the one-slide story framework to translate insights into a compelling narrative for the business, then return to the toolkit to review your process and refine your approach for even greater impact.