"Control reduces variance at the expense of adaptability.
Notice the word adaptability. In a performance fix that adds coupling, it pulls the quote out of inspiration and into mechanism: what repeats is what the system allows. That is why intent is never enough.
In a performance fix that adds coupling, people argue about preferences when the real issue is structure. You see it in a local fix that creates a new problem at the seams, where the system teaches everyone the wrong behavior. If the exception path is informal, it becomes politics; write the signal that makes an exception legitimate and who can approve it.
W. Edwards Deming is a reminder to keep it concrete. Name the tradeoff in plain language: the win you want and the cost you accept. Write it so execution is obvious.