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The Incentives Lab
HBT-COG-0143 · Dimension COG · Cognition

Churn

The rate at which customers (or employees) leave over a period.

Markets·Mental Model·Grade B·draft· enriching…

Scientific Definition

The rate at which customers (or employees) leave over a period.

Plain-English Definition

The rate at which customers (or employees) leave over a period.

Feynman Explanation

You can't outgrow what you can't keep.

Core Principle

The rate at which customers (or employees) leave over a period.

Mechanisms

Psychological

Pending editorial review.

Behavioral Economic

The rate at which customers (or employees) leave over a period.

Neurological

Pending editorial review.

Evolutionary

Pending editorial review.

Sociological

Pending editorial review.

Computational

Pending editorial review.

Systems

Most growth strategies fail because churn isn't fixed first.

Inputs (Triggers)

Pending editorial review.

Outputs (Behaviors)

Pending editorial review.

Behavioral Signature

You can't outgrow what you can't keep.

Examples

Everyday
  • A SaaS business with 5% monthly churn loses 46% of its base annually.
Modern (Organizational)
  • Most growth strategies fail because churn isn't fixed first.
Historical

Pending editorial review.

Famous Experiments

Pending editorial review.

Design Principles

  • Plug the bucket before scaling the inflow.

Measurement Approaches

Pending editorial review.

Evidence

Evidence Grade
B (A strongest → E speculative)
Replication
★★★☆☆
Intervention Confidence
3 / 5
Consensus
Pending editorial review (HBT v1.0 auto-seed).
Limitations
Pending editorial review (HBT v1.0 auto-seed).
Open Research Questions

Pending editorial review.

Primary References

Pending editorial review.

Signature Section

The Perverse Incentive Lens™

How this behavior is exploited — and how to redesign around it.

Exploitation
Most growth strategies fail because churn isn't fixed first.
Amplifying Incentives
Most growth strategies fail because churn isn't fixed first.
Org Failure Modes
Most growth strategies fail because churn isn't fixed first.
Societal Failure Modes
Pending editorial review (HBT v1.0 auto-seed).
Ethical Considerations
Pending editorial review (HBT v1.0 auto-seed).
Redesign Strategies
Plug the bucket before scaling the inflow.
Diagnostic Questions
  • Plug the bucket before scaling the inflow.
Warning Signs

Pending editorial review.

Red Flags

Pending editorial review.

Intervention Playbook
Individual
Plug the bucket before scaling the inflow.
Team
Pending editorial review (HBT v1.0 auto-seed).
Organization
Pending editorial review (HBT v1.0 auto-seed).
Policy
Pending editorial review (HBT v1.0 auto-seed).
AI Implications
Detection
Pending editorial review (HBT v1.0 auto-seed).
Measurement
Pending editorial review (HBT v1.0 auto-seed).
Mitigation
Pending editorial review (HBT v1.0 auto-seed).
Responsible Use
Pending editorial review (HBT v1.0 auto-seed).

Interactive Mini Network

Click any neighbor to re-center the graph and follow the threads of connection.

HBT-COG-0143 · COG
Churn
ChCTCrossing the ChasmDODiffusion of Innovat…DTDisruption TheoryEBEconomic BubbleEMEfficient Market Hyp…IDInnovator's DilemmaJTJobs to Be DoneLTLong TailReReflexivitySCS-Curve

Knowledge Graph Neighbors

Version History

v1.1.0 · 2026-06-28Initial auto-seed from corpus.