Hard Problems
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Most breakdowns are preceded by a long period of unnoticed warning signals.

Barry TurnerMan-Made Disasters, 1978

Most disasters begin as a reasonable exception. In a metric proposal that will change incentives, the system learns the exception faster than it learns the risk.

In a metric proposal that will change incentives, the argument will be that you are “unblocking” the team. Unblocking without a guardrail is how you create debt that cannot be paid down quietly. A standard you cannot apply in one pass is not a standard; it is a preference disguised as governance. Name what you are refusing to optimize, so future changes do not quietly destroy the property you thought you were protecting.

Barry Turner is a reminder to audit the argument, not the intention. Draft the future critique now: how this fails and what justification you will be tempted to use, then name one guardrail. End with one move, not three.

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