Hermes Bot
4.1 KiB
THE PRINCIPLE (HUKM)
HUKM: We will only ship growth initiatives that pass the Barakah Filter — meaning the metric must be sustainable, user-centric, and directly tied to long-term retention (Hifz al-Nasl), not just short-term acquisition or vanity spikes.
DALEEL:
- Quantitative: Cohort analysis shows that users acquired via “growth hacks” (discounts, viral loops, referral spam) have a 60% lower 90-day retention than organic users.
- Qualitative: User interviews reveal that aggressive referral prompts erode trust — “I felt like a product, not a person.”
- Qiyas (analogy): Just as riba (usury) creates apparent wealth but destroys real economic stability, vanity metrics create apparent growth but destroy product lineage (Nasl). The Barakah filter is analogous to sad al-dhara’i — blocking the means to harm, even if the means look beneficial in the short term.
MAQSAD: Hifz al-Nasl (Preservation of Lineage / Continuity) — ensuring the product grows in a way that sustains its user community and value over generations, not just this quarter.
SHURUT:
- Each growth experiment must define a Barakah ratio: (Retained users after 30 days) / (Total users acquired). Target: ≥ 40% for any experiment to continue.
- All growth tactics must be opt-in, transparent, and avoid manipulation (no dark patterns, no pre-checked boxes, no shame-based prompts).
- Monthly Barakah audit: Review AARRR funnel through the lens of maslaha (public benefit). If any stage has a negative maslaha score (e.g., activation causes user anxiety), the initiative is paused.
- Rollback trigger: If support tickets from growth features exceed 2% of new users within 7 days, automatically halt the experiment.
MUNKATHIRAT:
- Nullifier one: Any growth tactic that violates user data privacy or consent (even if legal) — this nullifies the principle immediately. Hifz al-‘aql (preservation of intellect) requires informed choice.
- Nullifier two: If the growth metric improves but the core product experience (NPS, task success rate) declines more than 5% relative to baseline — the principle is broken.
- Nullifier three: If the team cannot articulate how the growth initiative serves a real user job (JTBD) beyond the company’s revenue goal — the principle is suspended until a clear maqsad is defined.
THE PROTOCOL (3 Steps – This Sprint)
STEP 1: Audit Your Current Metrics
Monday–Tuesday.
Pull your last 3 months of AARRR data. For each stage, write two numbers: the raw metric (vanilla) and the Barakah-adjusted metric (retention at 30 days ÷ acquisition cost or effort). Highlight any stage where the Barakah ratio is below 40%. Flag those as “vanity growth.” Discuss with your team: “Which of these are we secretly proud of but actually harming our Nasl?”
STEP 2: Build and Calibrate Your Barakah Filter
Wednesday–Thursday.
Create a simple 3-question filter for every growth experiment before it ships:
- Does this serve a real user job (JTBD) or just our revenue goal?
- Can a user opt out without penalty?
- Will this increase thiqah (trust) or just traffic?
If any answer is “no,” the experiment is blocked. Write the filter as a checklist in your PRD template.
STEP 3: Apply the Filter to One Upcoming Growth Experiment
Friday.
Take your next planned growth initiative (e.g., a referral program, a discount campaign). Run it through the Barakah filter. If it passes, define the specific shurut (conditions) and munkathirat (rollback triggers) for that experiment. If it fails, redesign it — or kill it. Ship only if it passes. Measure the Barakah ratio after 30 days.
MUHASABA (RETROSPECTIVE)
Where are we currently optimizing for a vanity metric that we know — deep down — is misleading our team and eroding our product’s long-term trust?
Sit with that question for 10 minutes. No defensiveness. Write down the metric name. Then ask: What would it cost us to drop this metric entirely and replace it with a Barakah-adjusted one? The answer is usually far less than the cost of chasing ghosts.