Case 4 — Drastic Measures #

Young founder Nao approached Master Chowa of the Withering Willow, despair evident in her slouched shoulders.

“Master, our metrics are abysmal. After three months, barely fifty users visit daily. The new feature we crafted with so much care sits unused. Perhaps we should pivot, or abandon this pursuit altogether.”

Master Chowa led Nao to the monastery’s garden. There, a single bamboo shoot had just broken through the soil. The master poured a cup of water over it, then waited.

“Has it grown?” he asked.

“No, Master.”

“Then perhaps we should uproot it and plant something else?”

Nao remained silent.

“Every morning, I water this shoot, but I will measure it only once a month.”

Nao’s eyes widened. “But Master, without metrics, how can we know if we’re succeeding?”

Chowa said nothing. Instead, he scratched a few lines into the soil with his cane, and waited patiently for the clouds to pass. Soon, the bamboo shoot was casting a sharp shadow.

“It is a sundial,” Nao said.

“Indeed,” replied master Chowa, “yet how strange that time still passed when we could not see this shadow.”