A MECE Framework for Product Metrics
Welcome to the twenty-fifth edition of ‘3-2-1 by Story Rules‘.
A newsletter recommending good examples of storytelling across:
- 3 tweets
- 2 articles, and
- 1 long-form content piece
Let’s dive in.
🐦 3 Tweets of the week
Emotions are what drive us to act – this handy wheel gives you a fairly comprehensive and structured list.
Fascinating factoid about how some supply chain links can be so crucial.
🤣🤣🤣 Loved the framing of the first line leading up to second one.
📄 2 Articles of the week
a. Selecting the right product metrics by Jason Cohen
Knowing what metrics to optimise (and what to satisfice) is a crucial role of a leader. Jason makes a pretty strong claim in this article:
“…how do we select metrics that satisfy everyone?
Much blood has been spilled on this topic. Frameworks range from poster-sized interconnected networks of boxes and arrows, to reductively selecting a single North Star metric to rule them all, to cascading goals like OKRs. An organization should pick whichever framework is most likely to be adopted and honored.
I used to believe that “one true metric” with a smattering of operational indicators was the best way to focus a team on “what matters most.” But I’ve come to believe in a more comprehensive system, that addresses all of the needs outlined in the opening paragraph.
Here is that system.
The core part of the article is this thought-provoking framework (especially for Product leaders).
I’m not a Product guy, so don’t really understand many of the terms in the diagram above… but I love myself a good MECE-looking framework that tries to simplify several complex ideas… and this one looks the part!
b. John Mayer on what the songwriting process can teach us about writing (and life!)
A LinkedIn post by Billy Oppenheimer on some profound songwriting wisdom from John Mayer. Some extracts:
1/ “Whenever I want to write a big song, I can’t…That’s when I get writer’s block: when I try to write a song to fill the entire galaxy. But if I write about something the size of a glass of water—a week later, I notice it’s got the universe in it.”
3/ “Writer’s block is when the two people inside of you – the writer and the reader – when the reader doesn’t love the writer…It’s a failure to catch the feedback loop of enjoying what you’re seeing and wanting to contribute more to it.”
🎤 1 long-form listen of the week
a. Stephen Colbert: How “Breaking” on Stage Unlocked His Comedic Powers
Guy Raz, the star podcaster behind shows like ‘How I Built This‘ and ‘Wow in the World‘, has launched a new show called ‘The Great Creators with Guy Raz‘. He interviews leading actors, musicians, and other performers on their journeys and the secrets of their craft.
Guy is a master at making his star guests (Tom Hanks was one of them) comfortable enough to go beyond stock answers and show their vulnerability.
This episode with Stephen Colbert is a great example where Colbert shares the massive challenge he faced when he started ‘The Late Show with Stephen Colbert‘ … and how he had do strip away all masks and ‘be himself’ to make the show work.
That’s all from this week’s edition.
Photo by Bernard Hermant on Unsplash
