You know the maxim: “What gets measured, gets done”. The same doctrine is applied everywhere. In business of course where maximising profits is paramount, in the public sector too where public policies are evaluated based on their impact on population’s health, education, and even happiness, and in non-profit organisations where metrics and indicators are increasingly used for mobilisation and lobbying.

But why exactly measuring things makes them more likely to happen?

Illustration: https://bruchansky.name/2021/10/16/industrial-ethos/