Success metrics lie.

Success metrics lie.
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I watched a founder hit every target on his way to collapse.
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Jake's Series B startup was a case study in success:

↳ MRR grew 27% quarter over quarter

↳ Team expanded from 15 to 42 people

↳ Net promoter score consistently above 70

Then one Tuesday morning, he didn't show up for our call.

He was in the ER with chest pains at 36.

The diagnosis wasn't cardiac. It was burnout.

His business dashboard showed all green. His body was flashing red.
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After coaching dozens of founders through similar crises, I've identified the metrics paradox:

1. Misaligned incentives create invisible damage

↳ When investors celebrate growth, you suppress fatigue

↳ When your team needs leadership, you hide exhaustion

↳ When customers demand more, you borrow from your future self
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2. The scoreboard only shows what you decide to measure

↳ What if recovery metrics were as visible as revenue?

↳ What if your calendar tracked energy spent, not just time?

↳ What if board decks included founder sustainability scores?
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3. Sustainable founders build counter-metrics

↳ For each revenue target: set a 90-minute deep recovery block

↳ For each hiring sprint: schedule a full day of strategic silence

↳ For each funding round: establish concrete delegation thresholds
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Jake now maintains parallel dashboards. Weekly, he tracks:

→ Deep sleep hours (target: 6.5+ per night)

→ Focused work vs. reactive work ratio (target: 2:1)

→ Personal connection moments outside work (target: 5 per day)
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His business continues growing. But now, so is he.

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What invisible metric is your body tracking that your business dashboard ignores?

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ps: His name is not Jake, but the story is his