The mechanism
A shortfall can be reduced by improving performance or by changing the target. If the target repeatedly moves toward current performance, a dashboard may look healthier without an equivalent improvement in the underlying outcome.
An everyday version
Imagine a delivery service that changes its on-time standard from two days to five. The reported success rate can rise immediately even if customers wait just as long. That does not establish that the old target was appropriate; it establishes the need to report the change.
What to look for
Keep the underlying measure separate from the target and the reported compliance rate. Record changes to definitions. Ask whether revised expectations reflect new evidence, a deliberate change in priorities, or an effort to conceal deterioration.
Where could you intervene?
Make goal changes visible. Evaluate performance against a stable reference as well as any revised objective, and involve those affected by the standard.
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