Goodhart's law

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When a measure becomes a target, it stops being a good measure.

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In context

This law belongs with Murphy's Laws, where small assumptions, timing, and system complexity tend to turn into memorable failures.

Editorial note

Once a metric becomes a target, people optimize the metric and can weaken its connection to the intended outcome.

Practical example: A support team measured only on ticket closure speed may close tickets before customers are actually helped.

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