Goodhart's Law
- “what is goodharts law”
- “when a measure becomes a target”
- “goodharts law examples”
- “who said goodharts law”
:: COMPARE ::
Goodhart's lawvsNorth Star Metric
The short answer
The North Star Metric is Goodhart's Law's most confident modern violation. Naming one number as the target is exactly the pressure Goodhart described — the practice and the warning are the same sentence read in opposite directions.
Side by side
| Aspect | Goodhart's law | North Star Metric |
|---|---|---|
| Says | Targets corrupt measures | Pick one measure as target |
| Stated | 1975 | 2010s |
| Aware of the other | n/a | Usually not |
| Both can be right | Briefly | Briefly |
| Timescale | Bites later | Works at first |
| Remedy | Use several | Change it periodically |
Which one you meant
Readers who land here meaning Goodhart's Law rather than North Star Metric are usually searching for phrases like “what is goodharts law”, “when a measure becomes a target”, “goodharts law examples”.
North Star Metric
- “what is a north star metric”
- “how to choose a north star metric”
- “north star metric examples”
- “should revenue be the north star”
Which came first
Goodhart's law. 1975 — Charles Goodhart writes, in a paper on UK monetary management: 'Any observed statistical regularity will tend to collapse once pressure is placed upon it for control purposes.'
- 1975Goodhart's LawCharles Goodhart writes, in a paper on UK monetary management: 'Any observed statistical regularity will tend to collapse once pressure is placed upon it for control purposes.'
- 2010North Star MetricSean Ellis coins 'growth hacker', defining it as a person whose true north is growth — the navigational language is already present.
Read either one in full