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https://open.spotify.com/show/4Ajh7wA5N2x4xl6WwS8PrP?si=-TwzbAsYRLeer05j2UyqlQ

We’re huddled in a conference room, trying to map the next move for our digital payments solution. The engineering lead wants a build to test the transaction-execution-happy-path end to end. The product manager wants to validate market fit. And the stakeholders just want proof that the thing can be built in the first place.

At first glance, it looks like they’re all at odds. But look more closely and you start to make out a sequence. Turns out they’re not arguing — they’re chasing different...

A Tuesday stand-up.

The feature is late.

Engineering shrugs.

Design isn’t sure what’s in or out.

Leadership is pinging in Teams:

“Are we there yet? Are we there yet? Are we — ”

And the PM?

She’s refreshing her dashboard, scanning for any kind of signal, clinging to a vague, paper-thin sense that maybe — just maybe — everything’s okay.

But she doesn’t know.

Later, over lunch in her car in the Starbucks parking lot, second cortado in hand — ordered “not too hot” so...

I really hate the phrase “North Star Metric.” It’s painfully corporate and irritatingly buzzwordy, but everyone understands what we’re talking about, so let’s lean into it. (Pause for breath). Among the endless constellation of vanity metrics and meaningless KPIs, the North Star Metric (NSM) does a pretty good job of cutting through the noise. It’s that single, painfully clear metric that sums up whether your customers genuinely care about your product and predicts if you’re doing the right...