The Frontier of Understanding (NCTs)

"If you don't understand how to move a particular metric, then the right goal is to set a goal to increase your understanding not to move that metric." — Ravi Mehta

What It Is

Instead of blindly focusing on outcomes, teams should identify their "Frontier of Understanding." If the levers are unknown, the goal should be "Understanding Risk" (learning); if known, the goal can be "Execution Risk" (doing) or "Strategic Risk" (outcomes).

When To Use

• Quarterly planning when leadership demands metric increase
• Team has no clear hypothesis on how to achieve
• Avoiding "throwing spaghetti at the wall"
• Setting realistic, achievable goals

The Risk Levels