Metrics vs Goals: You Hit the Number, But Did You Win?

We often track metrics to measure progress toward our goals. But how do we know if we’re tracking the right ones?
There’s a subtle but important difference between metrics and goals. A good metric supports the goal. When the metric moves in the right direction, it usually means you're closer to achieving what matters.
But a bad metric? It becomes noise. Worse, it can send you in the wrong direction entirely.

Metrics ≠ Goals

It’s easy to confuse a metric with the goal itself.
Say your goal is to improve customer satisfaction. You choose a metric like tickets closed per day to track your support team’s performance. On paper, higher numbers look great. But in practice? Your team may rush to close tickets without solving the real issue, creating a worse experience overall.

In this case, the metric starts working against the goal.

This is where Goodhart’s Law comes in:

“When a measure becomes a target, it ceases to be a good measure.”
— Charles Goodhart

When people are incentivized to hit a number, they often find ways to do it, even if it undermines the original intent behind the metric.

Real-World Examples

1. Sales
   Bad metric: Number of calls made per day
   What went wrong: Sales reps focused on volume, not quality. Lots of dials, few conversions. Better approach: Measure qualified leads or sales velocity instead.

2. Growth
   Bad metric: Daily Active Users (DAU)
   What went wrong: Teams inflate usage with push notifications and app nudges. Engagement looks high, but churn stays the same. Better approach: Pair DAU with retention and user satisfaction scores.

3. Engineering
   Bad metric: Story points completed
   What went wrong: Teams inflate point estimates or game sprint planning to hit targets. The backlog moves, but nothing valuable ships. Better approach: Track cycle time, impact delivered, or customer outcomes.

The Hidden Cost of Bad Metrics

The problem with optimizing the wrong metric isn’t just wasted effort. It’s false progress, creating the illusion that things are going well when, in reality, nothing meaningful has changed or things have actually gotten worse.

In the long run, this leads to:

• Bad decisions based on misleading data

• Demoralized teams chasing numbers they don’t believe in

• Missed opportunities to fix real problems

• Wasted time and resources

So How Do You Track What Matters?

1. Tie metrics to outcomes
   If a metric improves, ask: does it actually reflect progress toward the real goal?

2. Audit your KPIs regularly
   Metrics age. What worked last quarter may not make sense now.

3. Use leading and lagging indicators

   Leading = activity (e.g., number of demos booked)
   Lagging = results (e.g., actual revenue closed)
   You need both for context.

4. Don’t over-optimize

   Sometimes good enough is good enough. Overfitting to a metric can reduce flexibility and hurt long-term thinking.

Conclusion

Metrics are important, but only if they serve the goal.
A well-chosen metric shines a light on progress. A poorly chosen one creates shadows and distractions.

Track what matters.
Ask yourself regularly: Is this metric still serving the goal, or has it become the goal?