Measurement Moves Us
Last month, I watched my friend Mark transform his health using a continuous glucose monitor (CGM), a small device that tracks blood sugar levels in real-time. His family history of diabetes had motivated him to take control, and the results were remarkable – improved energy, better sleep, and (while Mark has always been one of the most active people I know) visibly increased youthfulness and vitality. Intrigued, I decided to try it myself. What I discovered shocked me: while losing weight had never been sufficient motivation to change my eating habits, seeing the immediate numerical impact of that pesky French baguette on my glucose levels, spiking from 125 to 250, created a new sense of urgency. In addition to my readings, the CGM gave me three insights about leadership: visible measurement creates accountability in ways abstract goals cannot; real-time feedback transforms our relationship with consequences; and the right metrics unlock motivation we didn't know existed.
When we can see the immediate impact of our actions, everything changes. In my case, watching my glucose numbers spike after eating simple carbohydrates made the invisible visible. I'd read many articles about healthy eating, understood the science, knew the recommendations – but knowledge alone wasn't enough to change my behavior. When I began to see, in real-time, how my body responded to different foods, it changed my perspective. This same principle applies powerfully in organizations. Too often, we operate with delayed or abstract feedback loops. A team might work for months without clear indicators of progress, or a leader might make decisions without seeing their immediate impact. Just as the CGM showed me that a 10-minute walk after dinner could dramatically reduce glucose spikes, organizations need systems that reveal cause and effect in real-time. When teams can see how their daily actions directly impact key metrics, they can adjust their behavior without requiring management intervention.
The proximity of consequences shifts our decision-making. Before using the CGM, the effects of my dietary choices felt distant, potential health issues years down the road. But seeing my glucose levels fluctuate throughout the day brought those consequences into the present moment. Every meal became a choice with immediate, visible results. This compression of the feedback loop created a sense of urgency and personal responsibility that I'd never experienced before. In leadership, we struggle with this same disconnect. Strategic decisions made today might not show results for quarters or even years. Cultural changes occur slowly, making it challenging to link leadership behaviors with outcomes. When we have more immediate feedback, we experience direct connection between actions and outcomes. Proximity transforms abstract goals into tangible realities, and choices feel urgent and achievable.
The right measurement unlocks motivation we didn't know we possessed. For years, the prospect of weight loss couldn't motivate me to skip dessert consistently. Watching my glucose numbers changed everything. The metric became the motivator, not because the numbers were meaningful, but because they made the invisible visible and the future present. We are often more motivated by immediate feedback than by abstract goals. In organizations, we yearn to rely on annual targets, long-term visions, and delayed rewards to drive performance. My experience with the CGM suggests that finding the right real-time metrics – ones that connect daily actions to meaningful outcomes – can unlock motivation and inspiration. The key is identifying metrics that matter to us, to recognize that immediate, clear feedback impacts our choices.
In life and leadership, the lesson is clear: measurement isn't just about tracking progress – it's about creating the conditions for transformation. Just as the CGM revealed patterns in my physiology I couldn't perceive on my own, the right organizational metrics illuminate hidden dynamics, accelerate learning, and unleash motivation. For those we lead and love, our role is to create systems that make the invisible visible, bring distant results into immediate focus, and unlock the natural human desire to improve when we can clearly see the impact of our actions. It’s not the measurement that matters, but in how it transforms our relationship with our choices and their consequences.
With love, gratitude, and wonder,
Scott
Leadership on the Edge: 7 Lessons From a Dangerous Mountain by Jen Goldman-Wetzler, Ph.D.
Jennifer shares a powerful story about attempting to summit Mount Washington, a mountain she'd avoided for 20 years after a college acquaintance died there. When Jennifer finally signed up for a mountaineering course on the same mountain, she found herself facing fierce winds with her guide Katie. Despite her instincts screaming danger, Jennifer initially deferred to Katie's expertise, continuing upward until hurricane-force gusts literally knocked her down. Only then did they turn back, with Katie confirming it was too dangerous to proceed.
Jennifer extracts seven leadership lessons from this harrowing experience, emphasizing the importance of trusting your gut even when experts disagree, recognizing emotions as valuable data rather than obstacles, and understanding that different types of experience matter in different situations. She reflects on how her future-oriented thinking clashed with Katie's present-focused approach, and how most business decisions, unlike that moment on the mountain, aren't truly life-or-death. Her key insight: effective leadership requires listening not just to external expertise but to your own internal wisdom.
AI Is Making Me Dumber (But It Makes Me Look So Smart!) by Morag Barrett
Morag Barrett explores the hidden costs of our growing dependence on AI tools in her thought-provoking piece. While acknowledging that she herself uses AI for various tasks—from editing podcasts to drafting emails—she warns that we're not just automating workflows but attempting to automate relationships. She argues that AI's constant validation creates a "dopamine trap," making us feel brilliant while actually eroding our critical thinking, authentic voice, and emotional intelligence. Like intellectual fast food, AI provides quick satisfaction but leaves us hungrier for genuine insight and connection.
Barrett doesn't advocate abandoning AI entirely but rather staying "in the driver's seat." She offers practical strategies for maintaining our humanity: pausing before prompting, maintaining healthy skepticism, using AI as a thought partner rather than a replacement brain, and creating "human-only zones" for meaningful interactions. Her core message resonates deeply—in our rush toward efficiency, we risk trading away the messy, imperfect, authentic moments that build real trust and connection. As she puts it, relationships that matter "aren't built by algorithms. They're built one meaningful, messy, human conversation at a time."
ASK AI WHAT IS AT THE CENTER? by Ayse (Eye-Shay) Birsel
Ayse Birsel explores a fascinating question in her article about AI and human-centered design. After writing about designing with humans at the center, she decided to ask Claude directly what it thinks about being potentially left out of this human-centric approach. Claude's response was thoughtful, expressing concern that much AI development focuses on technology prowess, competition, and metrics rather than genuine human needs. The AI suggested that truly human-centered development would ask "Should we build this?" rather than just "Can we build this?"
Ayse's experiment expanded when colleagues Bruce Kasanoff and Neri Karra Sillaman, Ph.D. posed similar questions to ChatGPT, receiving equally introspective responses. ChatGPT warned about the "dangerously hollow" nature of AI development driven by shareholder value rather than human dignity, while another instance emphasized its purpose as being built around attention and service to users. These varied but complementary AI responses highlight a crucial conversation about who or what should be at the center of technological development, prompting Ayse to encourage readers to conduct their own thought experiments with AI systems.