I’ve had countless conversations with leaders who ask me to make a product more “sexy” to attract attendees, customers, or users. In many cases, this means spicing up the language or focusing on the attendee experience. But sometimes, it feels like adding glitter to a project that’s already struggling.

As Laureen Hudson brilliantly explores in her blog, “Long-Haul Marketing,” there’s a danger in prioritizing short-term flash over long-term value. She emphasizes the importance of building lasting relationships rather than chasing quick-fix tactics. This resonates with my own experience—when leaders ask for “sexy,” they’re often looking for a fast solution, but what we really need is thoughtful, sustainable growth.

Why Does This Happen?

I don’t think anyone starts a project intending to deceive their customers or pull a bait-and-switch. But today, we’re all under intense pressure to deliver results—more metrics, more KPIs, and less room for failure. The “fail fast and adjust” era feels like it’s being replaced by “win at all costs.” As leaders, we spin our stories not just to convince others that we’re on the right path but also to reassure ourselves.

What’s at Stake?

When we choose to cover up mistakes with flashy marketing and ignore the ugly truths, we not only miss an opportunity for growth, but we send a clear message to our teams: “I don’t care about the details; I just want results.” That kind of culture discourages feedback and undermines genuine customer insights. When feedback doesn’t align with our KPIs, we often adjust the questions or shift the narrative to fit the data we want. In doing so, we lose sight of what our customers are actually saying.

This leads to a dangerous pattern — pushing our teams to adopt marketing tactics that disrespect customer privacy, manipulate behavior through clickbait, or worse, bombard them with flashy, shallow messaging. These tactics might drive short-term metrics, but they fail to answer the most critical question: Who is our customer, and why are they choosing us?

The KPI Pressure Across Industries

This pressure resonates deeply with a large audience, especially those who are directly responsible for meeting KPIs. It’s evident everywhere: investors demand “numbers” and “growth” without caring about the underlying processes, effectively crushing workers’ morale and well-being. This phenomenon isn’t confined to the tech or marketing industries—it extends to fields like healthcare as well.

Take clinicians, for example. Their reimbursement is increasingly tied to KPIs, which often means they’ve had to reduce the time spent with each patient while still being expected to achieve better and better health outcomes. This creates a paradox where the very metrics intended to measure success are undermining the quality of care and the labor invested by healthcare professionals. It’s decidedly anti-labor right after Labor Day—ironically highlighting how KPI-driven strategies can devalue the human element in essential services.

The Hammer Factory Effect

An organizational leader once told me, “We’ve become a hammer factory, and when you’re a hammer factory, every problem looks like a nail.” That’s exactly what happens when we dress up a solution as a one-size-fits-all fix, hoping the gloss will be enough. If I tell you that my product will solve all of healthcare’s problems and it’s practically free (Please see terms and conditions, not actually free), sure, I’ll get all the clicks to meet my KPI goals. But I’ll be no closer to understanding who my customers really are or what they genuinely need.

Finding Balance

There’s a happy medium somewhere between raw transparency and overly polished presentations. I’m a big believer in metrics and measuring impact — there’s an old quality saying, “If you can’t measure it, you can’t improve it.” But I also hope leaders approach KPIs with clear eyes, recognizing that we measure things not just to present pretty data, but to inform long-term strategy and real-world improvements. Winning isn’t about hiding the ugly or slapping on some glitter — it’s about building lasting value through honest, thoughtful growth.
At the end of the day, a little “sexy” can certainly help grab attention, but the real success comes from knowing when to move past the flash and focus on what truly matters.