The North Star: Singular Focus

THE BRUTAL REALITY: VANITY METRICS ARE A DRUG

Most companies track "Page Views" or "App Downloads" because they make the board feel good. These numbers are a lie.

The Conflict: You can have 1M downloads, but if 99% of people delete the app after 3 minutes, your company value is zero.

The Truth: Only one metric actually tracks value. If you don't know it, you aren't growing; you're just making noise.

The Fix: You need a "North Star Metric"—the single number that best reflects the *core value* your product provides.

1. VALUE OVER VOLUME

For Facebook, it wasn't "logins"; it was "finding 7 friends in 10 days." For Slack, it's "2,000 messages sent." Once a user hits that number, they are "hooked." Your entire growth engine must be built to get them to that one moment with zero friction.

2. THE COUNTER-METRIC

Every goal needs a brake. If your goal is "New Users," your counter-metric must be "Churn." If you grow by 1,000 users but lose 1,100, you are a sinking ship. Never report growth without reporting the cost of that growth.

SMART WORDS

NORTH STAR METRIC (NSM)

The "Pulse." The one key measure of success that actually predicts long-term survival.

VANITY METRICS

The "Makeup." Statistics that look spectacular on the surface but don't correlate with profit.

CHURN

The "Bleeding." The percentage of customers who quit your service every month.

TACTICAL DIRECTIVES

1. The "Aha!" Moment: Ask your 10 best customers: "What was the exact moment you realized this was valuable?"

2. Define the Star: Identify your NSM today. It must be a *user action*, not a revenue figure.

3. Kill the Noise: Remove every metric from your weekly dashboard that doesn't directly influence the North Star.