Guard Against Goodhart Before You Announce the Metric
Identify ways a North Star can be gamed and add balancing checks before launch.
Assume your metric will be optimized by smart people under pressure. Proxy Drift A North Star is never the real goal; it is a proxy for the real goal. The real goal might be customer success, useful engagement, or durable revenue. Proxy drift happens when the team moves the measurement while weakening the underlying value. The Pre-Mortem Before launch, ask how the metric could be gamed. Could teams increase frequency by adding interruptions? Could sales improve conversion by lowering quality? Could product improve completion by removing meaningful difficulty? Each answer points to a needed definition or guardrail. Healthy Guardrails A…
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