The North Star Lie

I’ve learned that a North Star Metric (NSM) is useless, or even dangerous, without a Counter Metric. I know a vanity NSM can drive growth but destroy long-term platform health.

The counter metric is my non-negotiable health check. It covers:

This metric ensures I maintain long-term financial results. I institute a regular review cadence where I track both metrics to ensure a holistic view for my leadership team.

This discipline is what prevents my short-term wins from hurting the bottom line.

What is the Counter Metric your team tracks to ensure platform health doesn’t get sacrificed for growth?

Richard Ewing is a Product Executive and the creator of The Product Economist framework. He serves as a Strategic Advisor to B2B SaaS organizations, helping leaders audit their roadmaps for capital efficiency and prevent “model collapse” in their business models.

Stop guessing. Start auditing.

#ProductManagement #ProductLeadership #SaaS #ExecutiveLeadership #AIStrategy

Thanks for reading! This post is public so feel free to share it.