Why Chasing Outputs Will Actually Stall Your Growth
A small mobile-app startup once celebrated shipping 20 new features in a quarter. The product manager watched the team high-fiving around a screen full of green checkmarks. But as the coffee went cold and her phone buzzed with frustrated customer emails, she realized something was off: usage wasn’t climbing.
She dug into the data and discovered that many features had zero impact on onboarding completion. Users were downloading the app, exploring briefly, then abandoning it. The team had optimized for “features released,” not “users retained.” I might be wrong, but that was a wake-up call everyone needed.
Pulling from lean-startup taught me that outputs are comforting to measure because they’re easy, but outcomes are where real value hides. By shifting to activation and retention rates, the team unlocked meaningful insights—like which onboarding tweak cut drop-off by half. Suddenly meetings focused on “Did retention go up?” rather than “How many features did we ship?”
They applied outcome-based metrics for six months, fine-tuning just three features instead of chasing ten. Usage doubled. This shift—from counting outputs to tracking outcomes—is a fundamental principle for any product leader aiming to drive real growth.
To apply this approach, start by listing your current output metrics—features shipped, sprints closed—then interview a few users to uncover the specific outcomes they value most. Rewrite your scorecards so they reflect those outcomes instead of lists of tasks, and gather your team to explain why this new focus will drive better decisions and happier customers. Give it a try tonight.
What You'll Achieve
You’ll shift from an output-obsessed mindset to an outcome-focused culture, improving prioritization and driving stronger product-market fit. Externally, you’ll align teams around clear, customer-centric goals, boosting adoption and retention.
Swap Feature Counts for Outcome Metrics
Identify current output metrics.
Spend ten minutes listing the metrics your team reports on—features shipped, sprints completed, stories closed. Recognizing these outputs is the first step to shifting focus.
Define key customer outcomes.
Interview two to three customers or stakeholders and ask what success looks like for them. Note specific outcomes, like time saved or tasks completed.
Replace outputs with outcomes in scorecards.
For each output metric, create an outcome metric that maps directly to customer value—such as “percent of users completing onboarding.”
Communicate new metrics with your team.
Host a 15-minute meeting to explain why these outcome metrics matter. Encourage questions and get buy-in for the new success criteria.
Reflection Questions
- What has your team been measuring recently, and how did those metrics shape your decisions?
- How often do you stop and ask, “What outcome really matters here?”
- What would change if a key metric shifted from features shipped to customer success?
- Which current incentives push your team toward outputs rather than outcomes?
Personalization Tips
- At school, track how many classmates grasp a concept instead of how many chapters you covered.
- In health, measure improvements in sleep quality rather than hours spent journaling.
- In relationships, aim to resolve a recurring conflict instead of tallying date nights.
Escaping the Build Trap: How Effective Product Management Creates Real Value
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