Why "More ERGs" Is the Wrong Goal (And What to Aim For Instead)

[[youtube:P1tCyIYNCSU]]

The short answer

"More" is the laziest goal in ERG strategy. More ERGs, more members, more events — they all look good on a slide and tell you nothing about whether the program is healthy. In most programs, growth-for-growth''s-sake multiplies the dysfunction that was already there.

The right goal is depth, not breadth.

Why growth goals quietly break programs

When the leadership ask is "launch 4 more ERGs this year," here''s what actually happens:

1. You stand up 4 new ERGs with first-time leaders and no infrastructure.
2. The existing ERGs lose airtime because the program manager is busy onboarding the new ones.
3. Average engagement across the program drops — but total membership goes up, so the dashboard looks fine.
4. Year two, the new ERGs start collapsing because nothing was built underneath them. See why most ERG programs fail.

You don''t scale mess. Growth without structure is just mess with a bigger budget.

What to optimize for instead

Depth per ERG, not count of ERGs

A program with 5 ERGs each running on a real blueprint, repeatable processes, and a healthy Member Engagement Score is in dramatically better shape than 15 ERGs with sign-up sheets and quarterly events.

Engaged members, not total members

Total membership is a vanity metric (and one of the things you shouldn''t be measuring). The number that matters is what share of members actually participate in programming over a quarter.

Outcomes per ERG, not events per ERG

Each ERG should be able to point to specific outcomes it delivered against its blueprint this quarter. Three meaningful outcomes beats twelve events every time.

Operational maturity, not launch velocity

• ERGs that survive a leadership transition without collapsing.
• ERGs running without you in the room.
• ERGs operating on the 7-step measurement framework.

The reframe to bring to leadership

When leadership asks for "more," give them a better goal: "We''re going to make every existing ERG measurably stronger this year. We''ll launch new ERGs only when (a) there''s real demand and (b) we have the infrastructure to support them without weakening the rest of the program."

This is the same logic any product team uses. You don''t launch more product lines when the existing ones aren''t profitable.

What to do this week

1. Pull last year''s growth numbers (new ERGs, total members, total events).
2. Pair each one with a depth metric (engaged members per ERG, event engagement score, blueprint outcomes delivered).
3. Bring both columns to your next leadership update. The conversation will shift.

Keep going

• You Don''t Scale Mess: Clean Up Your ERG Program First
• How to Measure ERG Program Success
• What NOT to Measure in Your ERG Program
• The ERG Metric Triangle
• ERG Glossary