Why Everything’s Measured, Yet Nothing Improves

You’ve got the dashboard. The CRM. The tracker. But still, nothing moves unless you follow up.

Every leader has one.

A CRM that logs every touchpoint.

A Notion board that tracks everything.

A Google Sheet with filters, tags, and three different status columns.

It all looks beautiful and operates smoothly.

And yet, deadlines keep quietly shifting, tasks bounce like negotiation ping-pong, and nothing really moves unless someone leans in. Welcome to the Broken Funnel. It’s not a tech problem—it’s an ownership vacuum disguised as activity. And no, it’s no longer just a founder problem.

The Myth of Optimisation = Progress

Here’s the behavioural trap most teams fall into: “If we measure it, it must improve.” It’s the same illusion many gym-goers buy into—they track their steps, heart rate, and hydration, yet somehow still manage to skip leg day. Measurement creates the illusion of progress, but tracking alone doesn't create traction. Dashboards don’t close loops. People do.

A Familiar Pattern

If you manage even one function, ask yourself: Are you logging tasks only to redo them later? Running weekly reviews but still chasing updates on Slack right after? Are you gathering data, yet making decisions based solely on gut feeling? That’s not execution maturity—it’s process theatre. And like in most theatres, the lead actor ends up improvising when things go off-script. More often than not, that actor is you.

A Story That Still Haunts Me

A few months ago, we worked with a fast-growing Series B logistics firm. Their operations was scaling quickly, and the leadership proudly showcased their funnel: a Salesforce CRM, a Monday board for internal workflows, and weekly OKRs across pods. It looked airtight—elegant, efficient, and impressive.

But a closer look told a different story. Eleven leads marked “in final negotiation” had sat untouched for three weeks. One dispatch request had looped across four pods—well-documented, but still unresolved. Their top account manager had even built her own spreadsheet to double-check the CRM.

The system tracked the drop—it just didn’t catch it.

What was missing? Clear ownership of loop closure, behavioural friction to prompt action, and a rhythm that created urgency.

The tools were humming. But the funnel had already cracked.

Let’s Go Back to Ancient Athens

Socrates once said, “The beginning of wisdom is the definition of terms.” So let’s define optimisation more clearly: it’s not about reducing effort—it’s about rerouting responsibility.

Most teams don’t actually optimise; they decorate. They add layers, columns, and dashboards—cosmetic upgrades that look like progress. But core accountability stays untouched. It’s like ancient generals building taller watchtowers while leaving the city gates unmanned.

The Game Theory Behind It

Here’s the real trap, game-theoretically speaking: In the absence of explicit consequence, every player assumes someone else is closing the loop. This is the Bystander Effect… digitised. Your team has 9 watchers and 0 catchers. The funnel looks full, but the drop is no one’s job.

What Actually Works

Here’s what we’ve seen consistently unlock clarity across dozens of teams:

First, define the catchers. Every loop needs one—someone who owns not just the task but the outcome. If two people are responsible, no one is. And if you have to ask who owns it, it’s already unclear.

Second, audit the loop load. Every automation, review ritual, or “quick sync” adds loop load. The real question isn’t who scheduled it, but who’s emotionally and operationally carrying it. Who owns the consequences?

Third, publish the rhythm. If your system relies on reminders to function, it’s not truly optimised. Great teams prioritise rhythm over reminders. Pulse over panic. They don’t ask, “Who dropped it?” They ask, “What stopped the catch?”

Final Reflection: The Real Test

Here’s the broken funnel litmus test: “If I hadn’t followed up, would this have moved?”

If the honest answer is “no,” then what you’ve built isn’t a system—it’s just a tracker.

The real question isn’t whether you’re measuring everything or using the best tools. It’s this: Do your systems close loops without you?

Because if your funnel can’t drive action without constant human override, you haven’t optimised. You’ve just repackaged entropy.

(The author is a co-founder at PPS Consulting. He is a business transformation consultant. He could be reached at rahul@ppsconsulting.biz.)