Scientific Definition
90-day reporting windows shape multi-year strategies.
Plain-English Definition
90-day reporting windows shape multi-year strategies.
Feynman Explanation
Long-term value is rounded down by the next earnings call.
Core Principle
90-day reporting windows shape multi-year strategies.
Mechanisms
Pending editorial review.
90-day reporting windows shape multi-year strategies.
Pending editorial review.
Pending editorial review.
Strategy time-horizon compressed below value-creation horizons.
Pending editorial review.
Pending editorial review.
Inputs (Triggers)
Pending editorial review.
Outputs (Behaviors)
Pending editorial review.
Behavioral Signature
Long-term value is rounded down by the next earnings call.
Examples
- R&D cuts to make a quarter; framed as efficiency.
- Strategy time-horizon compressed below value-creation horizons.
Pending editorial review.
Famous Experiments
Pending editorial review.
Design Principles
- Long-term performance metrics. Modified guidance practices.
Measurement Approaches
Pending editorial review.
Evidence
Pending editorial review.
Pending editorial review.
The Perverse Incentive Lens™
How this behavior is exploited — and how to redesign around it.
- Long-term performance metrics. Modified guidance practices.
Pending editorial review.
Pending editorial review.
Interactive Mini Network
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Knowledge Graph Neighbors
Auto-linked to the rest of the Human Behavior Taxonomy by family, domain, dimension, and shared keywords.
Public companies optimize for 90-day numbers, starving long-horizon investment.
Earn-outs designed to retain founders often demotivate the team they bought.
Funnels rewarded for new logos under-invest in retention and lifetime value.
Cuts that lift margin this quarter erode product quality and brand equity over years.
Narrowly tied bonuses get gamed; people optimize the metric, not the underlying goal.
Re-hires often get raises larger than internal promotions.
Pay tied to stock price encourages short-term price management.
CEO pay tied to size rewards deal-making even when acquisitions destroy value.
Sales forecasts under-set to ensure attainment bonus.
Capital tied to growth rates funds unsustainable scaling and unit-economics denial.
Managers measured by team size grow teams beyond need.
Awards reward visible novelty; quiet excellence goes unrecognized.