Insights Per Minute (IPM)
"My north star metric is insights per minute. That's what I try to use whenever I have any live meetings with people so it squarely fits within what I'm optimizing for." - Elena Verna
What It Is
Insights Per Minute (IPM) is a personal north star metric for optimizing communication effectiveness. Rather than measuring meetings by duration or deliverables, IPM focuses on maximizing the density of valuable, actionable takeaways delivered per unit of time.
This mental model helps communicators cut through fluff and ensure every interaction delivers maximum value to participants.
How It Works
The Core Principle
For any communication—meetings, presentations, conversations—ask:
- How many genuine insights am I delivering?
- How quickly am I delivering them?
- Am I wasting time on non-insight content?
Balancing IPM with Storytelling
Lenny Rachitsky adds an important nuance:
"I do shoot for that [high IPM], although I have learned you also needed to feel good and feel their story. There's an interesting combo stuff. You can't just be insight, insight, insight."
Elena agrees: "It's all about how you present them too. Storytelling is a big portion of it actually to stick."
High IPM isn't just rapid-fire facts. It includes:
- Stories that make insights memorable
- Context that helps insights stick
- Emotional resonance that creates action
How to Apply It
Before meetings:
- List the core insights you want to deliver
- Cut anything that doesn't add insight value
- Plan how to make insights sticky (stories, examples)
During meetings:
- Monitor if you're generating insights or filling time
- Cut tangents that don't lead to insights
- Use stories strategically, not as filler
After meetings:
- Could attendees list 3+ insights they gained?
- Was time spent proportional to insight value?
- What could be cut next time?
For content creation:
- Does each section deliver an insight?
- Are you being concise enough?
- Are you using narrative to amplify, not dilute?
When to Use It
- Preparing for advisory sessions or consulting calls
- Designing presentations and talks
- Running team meetings
- Creating educational content
- Evaluating communication effectiveness
The IPM Balance
High IPM alone isn't enough. Optimize for:
| Element | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Insights | The value delivered |
| Stories | Make insights memorable |
| Context | Help insights apply |
| Pacing | Give time to absorb |
Pure insight-dumping can overwhelm. The art is in maximum insights delivered in a way that actually sticks.
Source
- Guest: Elena Verna
- Episode: "10 growth tactics that never work"
- Key Discussion: (00:05:23) - Elena's personal north star metric
- YouTube: Watch on YouTube
Related Frameworks
- Laughs Per Minute (LPM) - Measuring communication through humor
- Communication is the Job - Leadership impact through communication
- Gift of Details - Using specifics to create shared understanding