Drifting Goals
Updated 2026-08-08
INTRODUCTION
English translation pending.
CORE DEFINITION
A system dynamics archetype in which a perceived gap can be closed through two routes: raising actual performance or lowering the goal. Lowering the goal is easier and faster, so it is chosen under pressure. Because each reduction is small, the change is invisible in any single period, yet the cumulative effect is a steady collapse of standards, often described as the boiling frog problem. The remedy requires an external reference point, such as an industry benchmark or a historical peak, that cannot be renegotiated internally.
SCAFFOLDING EFFECT
Reduce cognitive load
- Drift alarm: treat any discussion of redefining success as a warning signal, not a planning session. - Anchor setting: fix an external benchmark such as an industry standard or your own historical best. - Trend review: compare this quarter's standard with the standard from several quarters ago.
Anchor fast decisions
Pressure to close a gap is continuous, while improving performance is slow and uncertain. Lowering the target relieves the pressure immediately and is fully within the team's control, so it is reinforced. Because the reduction is small, nobody experiences it as a decision, and the new lower level becomes the baseline for the next comparison. The gap is always closed, but the reference point quietly descends.
MINIMUM ACTION
In progress 0/1Practice this model in one real situation:
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Source support: Explicit
- en.wikipedia.orghttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/System_archetypeverified
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