Category: Wisdom

Additional examples of Goodhart’s Law (“When a measure becomes a target, it ceases to be a good measure.”):

1. You want to be healthy, so you decide to “go to the gym 3 times per week.” For a while, you’re excited and engaged at the gym, and your workouts are effective. But over time, you start to get lazy… maybe you spend a little more time in the locker room, or you spend more time waiting for equipment and not actually using it, but in your mind, you’re ‘healthy’ because you still “go to the gym 3 times per week.” Ironically, this is “unhealthy” behavior pursued it an attempt to be “healthy.”
2. You want to be wealthy, so you decide to “sell 100 products each month.” At first, you’re excited and engaged with your clients, and you’re creating mutually-beneficial business with terms favorable to both you and the client. But over time, you start to compromise on price so that you can make a few of your sales more easily. You’re still hitting your goal of “selling 100 products each month,” but you’ve lowered the price (or some other features) to make those 100 sales easier, and that means you’re making less money. Ironically, this is “unwealthy” behavior pursued in an attempt to be “wealthy.”
3. You want to be wise, so you decide to “read 1 book each week.” The first few books are exciting, and you approach them with an open and active mind, but over time, you start to let your attention suffer. You still read a book each week, but you’re distracted while reading (you might even fall asleep), and you hurry through each book just to check it off your list. Ironically, this is “unwise” behavior pursued in an attempt to be “wise.”

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