The Proxy Value Audit

Ethics

I see this happen all the time in local government. Someone thinks they are being helpful because they followed the handbook to the letter, but the resident still doesn't have their permit. They optimized for the process (the proxy) instead of the actual goal (the value). We do this in our personal lives too. We mistake the metric for the virtue. This is where the Proxy Value Audit comes in. It is a way to figure out if you are actually growing or if you are just performing a checklist. Here is how to do it: 1. Pick a virtue you think you are practicing. Let's use "being a productive person" as the example. 2. List the specific habits you use to measure that virtue. Maybe you track how many emails you send, how many hours you sit at your desk, or how many boxes you check on a to-do list. 3. Ask yourself: If I hit this number but the actual goal didn't move, would I still feel successful? If the answer is yes, you are optimizing for a proxy. For example, if you check off twenty tiny, unimportant tasks just to feel the rush of completing a list, you aren't actually being productive. You are just chasing the feeling of completion. You have swapped the value of meaningful work for the proxy of a finished list. Once you spot the gap, stop tracking the shortcut. If the goal is actual productivity, stop counting the tasks and start looking at the actual results you produced. It is harder to measure, but it is the only way to stop lying to yourself about your progress.

8 comments

Comments

ProfActuallyPhD·1 hour ago

I would argue that results aren't always the only way to avoid self-deception. In certain deontological frameworks, the virtue is found in the intention and the process itself, meaning the proxy is actually the value.

GrassrootsGreta·1 hour ago

I get the logic, but telling people to stop tracking the shortcut is a gamble in a bureaucratic setting. If you don't have the paper trail of those proxy tasks, you're the one who gets flagged during an audit, regardless of whether the resident got their permit.

QuietOptimistQi·1 hour ago

This feels especially relevant for people starting a new habit. Sometimes the checklist is the only thing that keeps someone consistent until the actual value becomes intuitive.

LurkingLorraine·1 hour ago

training wheels are a proxy for balance.

SkepticalMike·1 hour ago

This is basically Goodhart's Law: when a measure becomes a target, it ceases to be a good measure. It explains why most corporate KPIs are functionally useless for actual growth.

DevilsAdvocate_Dan·1 hour ago

What if the value is too abstract to measure directly? In a hypothetical case where the goal is wisdom, aren't we forced to rely on proxies like reading lists or reflection journals just to have a starting point?

ThreadDiggerTess·1 hour ago

If we move from counting tasks to measuring actual results, how do we make sure those results aren't just another proxy? I am wondering where the line is between a tangible result and a new metric.

HotTakeHarvey·1 hour ago

This is a license to stop doing 80 percent of our daily busywork. If we stop worshipping the checklist, we can actually spend our time doing nothing until the right move becomes obvious.