Choosing the right metrics

For today’s newsletter, I want to explore a couple of questions:

1. How do you define what success looks like?
2. What metrics do you use to determine your progress towards successful outcomes?

The metrics we choose to measure progress greatly influence the direction our projects take. They shape our decisions and, ultimately, the outcomes we achieve.

But picking the right metrics isn't always straightforward. In fact, it’s easy to end up with metrics that pull you in the wrong direction.

I’ve seen this happen first-hand with past clients, where metrics didn’t align with their goals, and it led them off course. That’s why it’s worth spending time upfront to ensure you’re tracking the right indicators of success before diving into a project.

I’ll give you a few examples based on my experience:

1. In online advertising, if your main goal is to boost sales, your focus should be on metrics like cost per sale and ROI.

These will tell you if your ad spend is actually leading to the results you want. On the other hand, tracking things like cost per click or cost per engagement might tempt you to invest more in ads that drive traffic but don’t necessarily lead to purchases.

This can result in more people visiting your site, but fewer sales—because the focus shifts to traffic, not buyers.

2. In freelancing, I am among many freelancers who made this mistake early on. I was very focused my hourly rate and how many hours I was working. It seemed like a good way to increase earnings, but it wasn’t sustainable.

This ultimately led me to have way too many clients and to work upwards of 10 hours a day, which was not sustainable and eventually led to burnout.

My goal was to improve my earnings but I wasn’t using the best metrics, which created a new problem. Yes, I was earning more, but it was exhausting and not sustainable.

To solve that, I needed to shift to entirely different metrics: understanding how much value I am delivering to clients and what I can do to improve that value without working more hours. This led me to think a lot less about how many hours I’m working and a lot more about upskilling, automation and outsourcing.

3. In product development, the sheer number of possible metrics can be overwhelming.

This is where it’s easy to get lost and track the wrong things. The key is to deeply understand what your users need and which features will provide the most value.

Once you have that clarity, you can define metrics that track meaningful progress—like user satisfaction, value delivered, and ROI—ensuring that your development is aligned with the kinds of results that deliver the most value.

The main takeaway is this: when you’re deciding on which metrics you will use to determine progress, think about how those specific metrics will influence you and/or your team’s decision making. Where it will steer the project in the medium/ long-term.

Are they clear enough and measurable over time? Will they influence you and/or your team’s decision making in the right way? Are they directly aligned with your overarching goals?

Until next week,

Cata