Progress Is the Only Metric That Always Matters

Why setbacks, failed interviews, and missed opportunities are often the clearest signs you’re moving forward

This is me and my Dad on his 77th birthday from the other day. He has been rehabbing to get out play tennis. We ended up playing pickleball instead. He likes tennis better but playing pickleball is progress towards being able to play tennis.

One measurement you can always rely on is progress.

Progress is what keeps you going when things feel like they aren’t working. When results are slow. When things break. When something you thought would work… doesn’t.

Even failure can be progress.

In recruiting this happens all the time. You screen a candidate, assess them, submit them to the client, and then they fail the interview or technical assessment.

At first glance, that feels like failure.

But if you step back, there’s usually progress hiding inside it.

Maybe you realize you misunderstood the role.

Maybe the hiring manager values a skill you hadn’t prioritized.

Maybe the candidate interviewed poorly for a specific reason.

Every one of those insights sharpens your understanding for the next search.

Progress.

The other day I had two candidates I thought were strong fail a technical assessment.

My first instinct was to defend them.

Maybe the test was unfair. Maybe the client’s expectations were off.

But instead of arguing, I went back and studied the assessment more closely.

What exactly were they measuring?

What skills actually mattered?

Where did the candidates fall short?

That process improved my understanding of the role more than any job description ever could.

Again — progress.

The same applies to candidates.

If you fail an interview or a technical screen, the real question isn’t “Why did they reject me?”

The better question is:

What can I learn from it?

Progress rarely looks like a straight upward line. It looks more like a messy scribble. A zig-zag. A sideways move followed by a leap forward.

As long as you’re moving, you’re progressing.

Setbacks are often just setups for the next breakthrough.

There’s another lesson here too: enjoy the process.

Some of the best performers in the world make their craft look effortless.

Great athletes look like they’re playing.

Great musicians look like they’re improvising.

Great entrepreneurs look like they’re experimenting.

But underneath that “play” is thousands of hours of work.

Recently, Peter Steinberger, founder of the fast-rising AI company OpenClaw, joked that he was simply “vibe coding” and having fun while building the company that ended up surprising the entire AI agent market.

Having fun.

Building something.

Learning as he went.

Now the company is worth billions.

The point isn’t that success happens by accident.

The point is that when you enjoy what you’re doing, you keep showing up. You keep shipping things. You keep learning.

And that’s where real progress comes from.

So don’t obsess over whether every step is a win.

Ship something.

Learn from it.

Adjust.

Keep going.

Progress is the only metric that always moves forward.