My understanding is that the fallacy is cherry-picking a few data points that are easy to measure and then claiming that these are the most important data point

My understanding is that the fallacy is cherry-picking a few data points that are easy to measure and then claiming that these are the most important data points, and then optimizing execution for moving them in the "right" direction. This is described in the metaphor of "searching under the streetlight". The key to this con is to act confident and to challenge any objections as lacking supporting data.