Measure… Measure… Measure…

Measurement is the first step toward improvement—but only if you’re measuring the right things.

Early in my career, I made the same mistake many leaders make: I optimized for what was easy to measure, not what actually mattered.

Goodhart’s Law:

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

In software teams, metrics like story points, lines of code, or hours logged are seductive because they’re visible. But they distort behavior, reduce quality, and undermine trust.

I’ve seen teams inflate output, avoid reuse, and sacrifice testability—all to satisfy metrics that had little correlation with customer value.

What Actually Matters

The most valuable indicators are also the hardest to measure:

• Reliability
• Trustworthiness
• Collaboration
• Growth mindset
• Code quality
• Humility
• Ownership

Teams strong in these areas can deliver almost anything.

Leadership Lesson

If you instrument the wrong metrics, you optimize the wrong behaviors. Effective leaders diagnose deeply, measure wisely, and resist false precision.

What you measure doesn’t just track performance—it shapes culture.