---
title: "Validate Your Lead Metrics"
url: "https://andrewshell.org/2021/10/validate-your-lead-metrics/"
lang: "en-US"
type: "post"
description: "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"
last_modified: "2021-10-23T15:09:10+00:00"
categories: [General]
---

# Validate Your Lead Metrics

Yesterday, I talked about the difference between [lead and lag metrics](https://blog.andrewshell.org/essays/lead-vs-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 Your 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?