Numbers Gone Wild: The Hidden Cost of Being Data-Driven

Written By Dan Andrews

Podcast 29:49 | Download | Spotify| Stitcher | iTunes

Chasing numbers can actually destroy what made your business great. In this episode, Dan and Ian unpack Goodhart’s Law — the idea that once a measure becomes a target, it stops being useful — and how founders accidentally turn smart goals into bad incentives. Plus, you’ll hear six ways to build healthier systems, lead better, and stop metrics from running your company off the rails.

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CHAPTERS:

Video:

  • 01:05 The Hair-Dye Economy & Durable Businesses

  • 03:35 The Problem with Metrics

  • 07:52 Fix #1: Revisit Your Brand Promise

  • 09:25 Fix #2: Determine a Countervailing Metric

  • 12:39 Fix #3: Combine Input and Output Metrics

  • 13:36 Fix #4: Refresh Metrics Every 90 Days

  • 15:06 Fix #5: Pulse Discipline

  • 16:35 Fix #6: The Leadership Lens

  • 18:55 The Alt Business School

  • 24:59 When a Job Post Becomes a Marketing Hack

Audio:

  • (00:01:16) The Hair-Dye Economy & Durable Businesses

  • (00:03:38) The Problem with Metrics

  • (00:07:44) Fix #1: Revisit Your Brand Promise

  • (00:09:12) Fix #2: Determine a Countervailing Metric

  • (00:12:17) Fix #3: Combine Input and Output Metrics

  • (00:13:12) Fix #4: Refresh Metrics Every 90 Days

  • (00:14:39) Fix #5: Pulse Discipline

  • (00:16:05) Fix #6: The Leadership Lens

  • (00:20:00) The Alt Business School

  • (00:25:42) When a Job Post Becomes a Marketing Hack

Dan Andrews is the co-founder of Dynamite Circle, author of Before the Exit, host of the Tropical MBA podcast, and an entrepreneur who has successfully launched and scaled multiple 7-figure businesses.

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Past guests on TMBA include Cal Newport, David Heinemeier Hannson, Seth Godin, Ricardo Semler, Noah Kagan, Rob Walling, Jay Clouse, Einar Vollset, Sam Dogan, Gino Wickam, James Clear, Jodie Cook, Mark Webster, Steph Smith, Taylor Pearson, Justin Tan, Matt Gartland, Ayman Al-Abdullah, Lucy Bella.

PLAYLIST:

Wealth Without a 7-Figure Exit: 5 Steps

How to Instantly Improve Your Lead Pipeline by 20-50%

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Have comments about the show?

Do you have ideas for things you’d like Dan and Ian to discuss in future episodes?

You can email our producer Morgan at morgan@tropicalmba.com.

Thanks for listening to our show! We’ll be back next Thursday morning 8AM EST.

Cheers,

Dan & Ian

Dan Andrews
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Wealth Without a 7-Figure Exit: 5 Steps