Measuring and setting targets is helpful.
They provide clarity and a sense of control. They also help us track progress and encourage certain behaviors.
But if misused, a well-intended measure can backfire and have the opposite effect.
For example, The Cobra Effect.
Photo: Biodiversity Heritage Library. Creative Commons
In Colonial India, the authorities wanted to reduce the number of loose cobras on the streets.
They created a program that offered money for each dead cobra people brought in.
At first, it worked, people killed loose cobras for the reward.
After some time, people began to breed cobras at home and then hand them in for the prize.
The authorities became aware of this, so they cancelled the program. This caused cobra breeders to release their snakes back to the streets!
This is an example of Goodhart's Law.
When the thing you're measuring (number of cobras turned) becomes the only target, people will figure out a way to reach it. But along the way, the real and most important objective (getting rid of loose dangerous cobras) is missed.
Goodheart's Law can be found everywhere, across all professions and businesses.
Compare these two ways of approaching the same intent but with different measures:
Approach A
Company “X” wanted to offer the best customer service.
They began evaluating their employees on how many customer service calls they could answer in a day.
Naturally, employees started to be more active and began to answer more calls.
To reach their daily quota, they started cutting their calls short or transferring clients to other areas if the problem takes too long to solve. Sound familiar?
Approach B
Zappos is a company founded by Tony Hsieh. Although they sell shoes
online, they are most known for their culture and "delivering
happiness" philosophy.They encourage employees to spend whatever time and effort is necessary to "wow" customers.
As a result, they are recognized worldwide for their outstanding customer service. Customers even send call representatives "thank you" gifts.
(Note: They also hold the record for the longest customer-service call at 10 hours, 43 minutes).
Same intent, alternative measures, completely different results.
The Takeaway:
Don't lose sight of the purpose and objective of what you are trying to accomplish.
Results are not only about outputs. It's about the value of what is being done or produced. Always think and reevaluate about what you are measuring and why.
Choose the right measures for your life.
How do you measure your happiness today? Is it giving you the results you are looking for?
Clayton M. Christensen put it best:
"Think about the metric by which your life will be judged, and make a resolution to live every day so that in the end, your life will be judged a success."
Let me know what you think. Hit reply.
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I hope you are well.
María Albert