Lost in the Stars: How Too Many North Star Metrics Kill Focus

The North Star metric was originally meant to guide organizations toward a shared sense of purpose — a single, shining point that keeps everyone moving in the same direction. But in many companies, what started as a compass has become a constellation. Every team wants its own “North Star.” Every product, every initiative claims to be the guiding light. And suddenly, the sky is too bright to see where you’re actually going.

I’ve seen this play out in organizations that genuinely mean well. They’ve embraced metrics. They’ve read about OKRs, KPIs, and the power of data. (If you haven’t yet, check out my earlier post “Building a KPI Tree for Product Success”). But somewhere along the way, the focus shifts from direction to decoration. Metrics become badges of importance — not instruments of navigation.

When Alignment Turns into Chaos

At first, multiple North Stars sound empowering. Each team defines its purpose, measures what matters, and feels autonomous. But what happens next is predictable:

Strategy fragments. One team optimizes for engagement, another for revenue, a third for efficiency — and none of them are talking to each other.
Decision-making slows. Leaders juggle conflicting priorities without a shared lens to make trade-offs.
Focus evaporates. Teams chase short-term wins under the illusion of alignment because, well, “our North Star says so.”

It’s like giving every ship its own compass — all pointing slightly differently north. Everyone’s moving, but no one’s arriving.

The Original Purpose of the North Star Metric

The North Star metric is not a trophy. It’s a translation of your value creation logic — the key measure that captures how your product creates sustainable value for customers and, in turn, for your business.

Think of it like this:

Spotify’s North Star isn’t “monthly active users.” It’s “time spent listening.”
Airbnb’s isn’t “number of listings.” It’s “nights booked.”
A team’s isn’t “velocity.” It’s “impact created for real users.”

The best North Star metrics are simple, behavioral, and deeply connected to customer value. They unify conversations around outcomes, not outputs.

Why We Create Too Many Stars

So why do organizations multiply their North Stars? A few common dynamics:

Fear of losing autonomy – Teams equate shared direction with control, so they insist on their own version.
The illusion of importance – Having a metric that sounds “North Star-ish” signals significance, even if it’s disconnected from the whole.
Lack of shared strategy – When the overarching direction isn’t clear, every team fills the void with its own compass.

The result: beautiful metric dashboards, but very little cohesion. Everyone’s working hard — but the system isn’t moving forward together.

Bringing Coherence Back

If everything is a North Star, nothing truly guides you. The way out starts with clarity and courage:

Revisit your value logic. What’s the one outcome that truly defines success for the whole organization?
Design metric trees. Let the North Star sit at the top, supported by primary and secondary metrics — not competing stars.
Foster vertical alignment. Teams should see how their work ladders up to the shared direction, not redefine it.
Simplify the story. A good test: can you explain your company’s North Star in one sentence to a new joiner?

When you bring focus back, teams rediscover their autonomy within alignment — not outside of it.

The Light You Need — Not the One You Want

A true North Star metric doesn’t make everyone happy. It makes everyone honest. It reveals what really matters and what doesn’t. It forces trade-offs, clarity, and coherence. And that’s exactly what leadership is about.

So before you define another “North Star,” ask:
Does it guide?
Or does it just glow?

Further reading: