Goodhart's Law of Personal Development

Main Idea

Goodhart's Law is an interesting concept. It is a principle that warns us against the errors associated with turning a measure into a target. When we do this, the measure ceases to be a good one. This happens because, to achieve the target, people will change their behavior, often contrary to the spirit of the original goal.

For example, suppose you want to read more books. You set a goal to read 50 pages a day. Initially, this seems like a good indicator of progress. But soon, you may find yourself skimming through pages just to meet the goal, without truly engaging with the content. In this case, the measure ceases to be a good indicator of your original goal, which was to enrich your knowledge through reading.

Terms

• Goodhart's Law - A principle named after economist Charles Goodhart. It states that when a measure becomes a target, it ceases to be a good measure. Example: A company sets a target for the sales department to make 100 calls a day. Employees start making calls without paying attention to the quality of the conversation, just to meet the target.

• Measure - A method or standard used to quantitatively or qualitatively assess something. Example: In the process of losing weight, the number on the scale is a measure of progress.

• Target - A specific goal or objective we aim to achieve. Example: A student sets a target to score over 90% in all subjects.

Analogy

Imagine Goodhart's Law as a speedometer in a car. The speedometer is an indicator of how fast you are driving. If you set the speedometer reading as a target, say 60 miles per hour, you might ignore other important factors like road conditions or traffic rules just to maintain that speed. In this case, the speedometer reading ceases to be an indicator of safe driving.

Common Misconception

A common misconception about Goodhart's Law is that it advises against setting goals. This is not true. The law does not say that goals are bad. It says that when a measure becomes a target, it ceases to be a good measure. For example, if customer satisfaction in a business is measured by the number of positive reviews, employees might focus only on getting good reviews rather than genuinely improving customer service quality.

History

1. Goodhart's Law was named after British economist Charles Goodhart, who formulated it in 1975 while advising the Bank of England.

2. Over time, this principle has been applied in various fields, from economics to healthcare, highlighting the unintended consequences of setting targets.

3. As Goodhart himself said, "Any observed statistical regularity will tend to collapse once pressure is placed upon it for control purposes."

Three Examples of How to Use This Right Now

1. Learning a New Skill: Suppose you are trying to learn a new language and set a target to learn 10 new words daily. Key takeaway: You may realize that focusing solely on the number of words can lead you to forget about the context or usage of these words. Instead, aim to understand and use a few new words in conversation each day.

2. Meditation: You decide to start meditating and set a goal to meditate for 30 minutes daily. Key takeaway: Focusing on the duration might lead you to overlook the quality of meditation. Instead, aim for a few minutes of deep, focused meditation, gradually increasing the duration as you become more comfortable.

3. Reading for Personal Development: You set a goal to read a certain number of self-improvement books each month. Key takeaway: This might lead you to read books just to meet the goal, without absorbing or applying the advice. Instead, aim to deeply understand and apply the knowledge from one good book before moving on to the next.

Interesting Facts

• Goodhart's Law is closely related to the concept of "perverse incentives," where an incentive leads to unintended and undesirable outcomes.

• Marilyn Strathern rephrased this law as: "When a measure becomes a target, it ceases to be a good measure," often used in the context of performance management.

• Goodhart's Law is used to criticize standardized testing in education, arguing that teaching to the test makes the test a poor indicator of learning.

• Goodhart's Law is often used in business, where it is recognized that setting targets can sometimes lead to counterproductive behavior, such as employees focusing on meeting the target at the expense of other important aspects of their work.