this post was submitted on 03 Jun 2026
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If a metric becomes a target...
How many times do we have to teach you the same lesson, old man?
If a metric becomes a target, It ceases to be a good measure. If it ceases to be a good measure, It will want a glass of milk. If it wants a glass of milk, It will want a cookie. If it wants a cookie, It will need to become a target. If it needs to become a target, It will want to be a measure.
Hey I know that book!
https://lawsofsoftwareengineering.com/laws/goodharts-law/ https://hacker-laws.com/#goodharts-law
I should probably spell it out, yeah.
It's my favourite counterbalance to certain managers at my company regurgitating a half-understood "If you can't measure it, you can't manage it" (which is also almost entirely bullshit, but MBAs need a one-size-fits-all solution in order for the whole premise of their degree to work, so they attempt to make businesses conform to their methods instead of adapting their methods to the business). You can't use a single measure (or only directly dependent measures), then tell people to improve that measure without figuring out just why it's lagging and working on that instead.
There it is 👍
At least once more.