I think it's more that "vanity" metrics are those that get reported by companies to the press, and by higher ups to their employees, because in both cases they

I think it's more that "vanity" metrics are those that get reported by companies to the press, and by higher ups to their employees, because in both cases they want to give the appearance that everything is going great. In my experience the key decision makers see the reality of the situation and care about measuring what's actually going on.