Incentives are everything.

Here’s a framework for establishing incentives (that actually create desired outcomes):

Great incentives create great outcomes.

But unfortunately, humans are astonishingly bad at establishing incentives—we consistently invite manipulation and unintended consequences.

This thread shares my framework for a establishing better incentives:

Incentives are anything that drives an individual to act in a specific manner.

Intrinsic incentives are internal—created by self-interest or desire.

Extrinsic incentives are external—created by outside factors (reward, punishment).

Today, we'll focus on extrinsic incentives.

In a very simple model, extrinsic incentives typically involve two key components: the measure and the target.

The measure is the metric that the individual or group will be judged upon.

The target is the level of the measure at which a reward (or punishment) will be initiated.

The problem?

This simple model of incentives—which will feel familiar to many—often leads to undesirable outcomes and unintended consequences.

Goodhart's Law explains why:

When a measure becomes a target, it ceases to be a good measure.