Most people measure the wrong things.
Not because they’re not paying attention. Because they measure what’s easy to count rather than what actually matters.
I’ve done this. I’ve tracked revenue when I should have been tracking cash. I’ve measured activity when I should have been measuring outcomes. I’ve counted conversations when I should have been counting commitments. The numbers looked fine. The business didn’t match the numbers.
The problem with measuring the wrong things isn’t just that you get bad data. It’s that you get confident bad data. You feel informed. You make decisions based on a picture that looks complete but isn’t.
The first question I ask when I look at any metric now is: what does this actually tell me? Not what can I infer — what does this directly tell me? And then: what does it not tell me?
Revenue doesn’t tell you cash. Activity doesn’t tell you progress. A full pipeline doesn’t tell you close rate.
The measure that matters is the one closest to the outcome you actually care about. Not the one that’s most available, most flattering, or easiest to present.
Find the real number. Build your picture around that.
The Takeaway
The measure closest to the outcome you actually care about is the one worth tracking — everything else is noise that feels like signal.
Keep Moving Forward!
Not-So-Guru
If this one landed — The Not-So-Guru Manifesto is waiting.