Metrics: Useful or Evil? | Scott H Young

John Doerr's Measure What Matters is about the importance of setting clear goals and using metrics to back them up. Doerr argues that metrics-driven OKRs (objectives and key results) have a considerable impact.

In contrast, Jerry Muller's The Tyranny of Metrics shows that measuring everything destroys our schools, hospitals, police and politics. When metrics is the most important, everyone will try to "game" the numbers. E.g., schools teach to the test rather than to educate.

Organisations often waste time by pursuing conflicting goals. OKRs helps to focus united efforts as it is easy to evaluate progress when goals are tied to measurable results.

However, it can be a problem when goal-setting becomes an obsession. Common pitfalls to avoid:

• Do not tie metrics to compensation.
• If your metrics measure the wrong thing, be open to change it.
• When quality and quantity matter, add more metrics.