Gaming the Numbers: Why Bad Metrics Drive Bad Behavior
“Gaming the numbers” happens when people respond rationally to poorly designed targets, incentives, and performance metrics. These posts explore how fear, quotas, and simplistic scorecards lead people to manipulate data, hide problems, or optimize appearances instead of improving the system.
Drawing on examples from healthcare, government, finance, sports, and everyday work, this archive reflects a core Lean lesson: when metrics are misused, the system teaches people to game the numbers rather than fix the work. Real improvement requires better measures, better leadership, and less blame.
