Skip to content
How to ThinkIn the Age of AI

Define your personal value metric before measuring…

Before measuring anything, define your personal value metric (what 'value' means for your specific outputs) as the lagging indicator that ultimately matters, then select leading indicators that predict it—never measure without first answering 'value for what purpose.'

When This Fires

  • Before setting up any measurement system for your outputs
  • When existing metrics feel meaningless or disconnected from your goals
  • When you're measuring many things but none of them tell you whether your work matters
  • Complements Track four output dimensions (four-dimension scorecard) with the foundational value definition that determines how to weight the dimensions

Common Failure Mode

Metric-first measurement: adopting whatever analytics your tools provide and treating them as value indicators. Google Analytics shows page views → you optimize for page views. Twitter shows impressions → you optimize for impressions. The metrics drive the goals rather than the goals driving the metrics.

The Protocol

(1) Before building any measurement system, answer: "What does 'value' mean for my outputs?" Write a concrete definition: "Value = people who implement the ideas," "Value = depth of my own understanding," "Value = consulting leads generated," "Value = community discussions sparked." (2) This is your lagging indicator — the thing that ultimately matters but may be hard to measure directly. (3) Identify 2-3 leading indicators that predict your lagging indicator: if value = implementation, then leading indicators might be "saves/bookmarks" (suggesting intent to use later), "questions about specific steps" (suggesting active engagement), "testimonials or case studies" (confirming implementation). (4) Measure the leading indicators as proxies for value, but regularly verify the proxy relationship: do outputs with high leading indicators actually produce the lagging indicator? (5) If leading and lagging indicators diverge (high saves but no implementation), the proxy has broken — redefine your leading indicators.