{"id":1367,"slug":"what-would-i-do-if-it-moved-test","title":"The \"what would I do if this number doubled or halved tomorrow?\" test — if no action follows, it's vanity","kind":"reference","scope":"business","status":"current","audiences":["kevin","smb-owner","candid-team"],"topics":["editorial-discipline","dashboards","decision-linked-metrics"],"reference_body":"**Test:** For any proposed metric on a dashboard, ask: \"**If this number doubled or halved tomorrow, what specific action would I take?**\" If none, it's vanity (followers, total pageviews, cumulative signups).\n\n**Source:** Synthesis of practitioner literature.\n\n**Confidence:** Industry-consensus.\n\n**Why this matters for Candid:** The single sharpest *client-facing* framing in the brief — cuts through \"show me everything\" reflexes in one question. Anchors [[rule-qualify-every-metric-with-decision-and-threshold]] and [[used-vs-vanity-dashboard-criteria]].","rationale_body":null,"metadata":null,"links":{"outgoing":[{"slug":"used-vs-vanity-dashboard-criteria","title":"Five criteria separating a used dashboard from a vanity one: built for daily user / every metric tied to decision+threshold / embedded in existing workflow / trusted / few metrics (~5-7 per view)","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"depends-on"}],"incoming":[{"slug":"research-brief-dashboards-smb-june-2026","title":"Research brief: dashboards for SMBs — what's worth showing, and when an embedded one earns its keep (June 2026)","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"relates-to"},{"slug":"rule-qualify-every-metric-with-decision-and-threshold","title":"R1 — Before building any dashboard, qualify every proposed metric: named owner + named decision + action threshold; if it fails the \"what would I do if it moved?\" test, drop it","kind":"rule","scope":"business","link_type":"depends-on"}]},"created_at":"2026-06-20T18:03:12.180Z","updated_at":"2026-06-20T18:03:12.180Z"}