From Fire to Fuel: How Purpose Shapes Metrics, KPIs, and Decision-Making

Ensuring KPIs Serve Purpose, Not Replace It.

In “Purpose Before Team: The Fire Comes First,” we explored a fundamental truth: Purpose isn’t something a team invents—it’s something that pulls them together.

But fires don’t tend themselves. In many organizations, the fire that once pulled everyone forward—the clarity of purpose—fades behind dashboards filled with green checkmarks and upward-pointing graphs.

It’s not that KPIs and metrics are wrong. They’re essential. But too often, they become the goal instead of the guide. The fire still burns, but it’s hidden under layers of performance indicators.

So how do we move from mechanical measurement to meaningful alignment? How do we ensure metrics don’t just measure outputs, but serve the gravitational pull of purpose?

Aligned vs. Misaligned Metrics: Seeing the Difference

Metrics aren’t neutral—they’re directional. They tell teams what to prioritize, what to celebrate, and what to worry about.

When metrics drift away from purpose, the organization starts optimizing for numbers instead of meaning. It happens subtly, almost invisibly, until one day you realize: the fire isn’t warming the room anymore—it’s just keeping the lights on.

Reflection: Measuring What Matters in Healthcare

I’ve often thought about how different healthcare systems approach metrics. On one hand, there are systems obsessed with speed—shorter consultations, faster throughput, lower costs per patient. On the other hand, some systems prioritize outcomes: patient recovery rates, emotional well-being, and long-term health impacts.

Both sets of metrics matter. But when speed becomes the defining measure of success, it can obscure the deeper purpose—to heal, to care, to make people whole.

Reflection: Metrics in Technology

The same challenge exists in tech companies. A purpose like 'Making technology accessible to everyone' sounds clear and inspiring. But when KPIs emphasize average revenue per user or subscription growth in premium tiers, purpose can slip into the background.

Purpose doesn’t disappear in these moments—it’s just quietly overshadowed by what’s easiest to measure.

Why Do Metrics Drift Away From Purpose?

Misalignment isn’t a dramatic betrayal—it’s a slow drift. It happens because:

• Financial metrics are easier to measure: They’re clear, visible, and quick to report.

• Short-term pressures dominate: Quarterly targets often override long-term goals.

• Legacy metrics persist: Old KPIs linger even when they no longer serve the strategy.

• Purpose feels intangible: Numbers are hard, purpose feels soft.

But when metrics are disconnected from purpose, they start pulling teams in different directions—efficient, yes, but rarely aligned.

You Can’t Measure Purpose Directly—But You Can See Its Effects

Purpose leaves footprints. You can see them in the way customers describe your product when you’re not in the room. In the way teams make decisions under pressure. In the stories people tell about their work.

If purpose were fully alive in your organization, what would you notice? What would change in:
- How your customers feel?
- The energy in your meetings?
- The decisions your teams make when trade-offs emerge?

Start there. Metrics should follow those answers—not replace them.

Practical Steps: Aligning Metrics with Purpose

Purpose-driven KPIs aren’t theoretical—they’re actionable. Here’s how leaders can start aligning their metrics with purpose:

1. Start with Purpose Questions:

• Ask: If our purpose were fully alive, what would we notice? What would success look like beyond revenue and efficiency?

2. Map Financial Metrics Back to Purpose:

• Financial health is essential, but it should serve purpose, not replace it. Tie financial outcomes to purpose-driven goals.

3. Watch for Trade-Offs:

• When financial KPIs and purpose metrics pull in opposite directions, leaders must notice—and address—that tension.

The Leader’s Role: Holding the Tension

Leading isn’t about choosing between financial performance and purpose—it’s about holding the tension between them.

In moments where trade-offs arise, great leaders don’t default to what’s easiest to measure. They ask deeper questions:
- What are we optimizing for?
- How does this decision align with our purpose?

And then they listen—to their teams, to their data, and to the subtle pull of the fire beneath it all.

A Personal Realization

When I started exploring the relationship between purpose and metrics, I was struck by how often misalignment isn’t intentional. It happens quietly—through small choices, inherited KPIs, and an unconscious focus on what’s easiest to measure.

But clarity comes from asking better questions. From slowing down long enough to notice where the gravitational pull of purpose is strongest—and where the numbers might be obscuring it.

It’s not about rejecting KPIs. It’s about asking if they’re pointing toward the fire—or away from it.

The relationship between purpose and metrics doesn’t exist in isolation—it evolves alongside an organization’s values and leadership style. In my article, Using Spiral Dynamics to Navigate Leadership and Organizational Growth, I explore how different value systems influence organizational priorities, decision-making, and alignment with purpose. Together, these perspectives provide a roadmap for navigating the tension between short-term metrics and long-term purpose.

Metrics aren’t the fire. They’re the wood, the air, the tools we use to tend it.

Are your metrics serving the fire? Or are they just keeping the lights on?