Measurement & strategy · Accountability lens
Incentive corruption
What is incentive corruption?
When incentives reward the appearance of performance at the expense of actual performance. Teams learn to optimize whatever the compensation plan or scorecard rewards, even when that behavior weakens the underlying business goal.
Incentive corruption: an illustrative example
A marketing team rewarded for marketing-qualified lead volume lowers its qualification threshold. The lead count rises while the share of leads becoming customers falls.
Sources and related reading
- Moni Oloyede for MAC: Is Your Self Worth Tied to a Dashboard? — related reading
This is a practical accountability lens. Examples illustrate the concept; they are not verified client results. Working definitions and accountability lenses are not claims of a universal standard or original coinage.
Related measurement & strategy terms
- A/B testing
Comparing two versions by randomly assigning participants and measuring a predefined outcome.
- Accountable owner
The person responsible for carrying an agreed outcome through delivery.
- Attribution
Assigning credit for an outcome to observed touchpoints using a stated rule or model.
- Baseline
The starting reference against which change is assessed.