Yesterday, I talked about the difference between lead and lag metrics and why they are essential parts of your goal-setting funnel.
Today, I will discuss making sure your lead metrics lead to your lag metrics using validated learning.
Applying Validated Learning to Tour Goal Funnel #
- Define a goal with a measurable metric (lag metric)
- Think of an action you can do regularly that should lead to progress toward your lag metric (lead metric)
- Act on your lead metric for a set period (2-12 weeks)
- Analyze your results
- Reevaluate your lag metric
What's happening here is you're applying the scientific method to your goal setting and achievement process.
What to Look for During This Process #
- Were you successful in completing your lead metric? For example, if you said that you're going to call 20 leads every day, and you called ten leads a week, you need to identify why this failed. Was it unrealistic? Were there other things that interfered with achieving your goal, like getting sick or another emergency?
- If you were unsuccessful in completing your lead metrics, is there something you can do differently the next time around to be more successful? For example, do you need to schedule a time to work on it? Do you need to go someplace different (coffee shop or library) so you can focus and do the work?
- If you were successful, is there evidence that achieving this lead metric progresses toward the lag metric?
- If it made little or no progress toward the lag metric, why? Is it the wrong lead metric? Did you not do it for a long enough time? Are there other things that would produce more progress?
- Are there any resources (people, books, courses, etc.) that could give you external feedback on why this failed or what you should be doing instead?