Think about the last time you tried to get into an exercise routine. Or consistently wake up earlier. Or quit smoking. None of those things are complicated, but all of them are hard to accomplish. We don’t fail at them because they’re complicated, we fail at them because we don’t prioritize them and think about them (let alone do them) on a daily basis.
Software you can fix, because it is cause and effect. If something isn’t working properly, there’s some bad code somewhere that just needs to be hunted down. But when your code is working and no one cares, that’s harder.
Good KPIs are lagging indicators and they tell you what has already happened to you business. Leading indicators are great KPIs because they help you predict the future.
Even when they stop getting the desired results, founders keep pressing that button, hoping the inscrutable machine starts working again.
Seriously, I can’t hammer this one home enough. Just. Fucking. Take. The. Call.
In startup land, we like to tell ourselves a bedtime story that it’s all a meritocracy and we’re strictly about finding the best people. Hacker News is filled with comments like “who cares what race or gender they are; just pick the best people.” If only it were that easy, my little brogrammer.