We cannot be naïve about this phenomenon of gaming. When people are rewarded for achieving a certain number, or punished for missing it, they will cheat. They will skew. They will skim. They will downgrade. In the mindless pursuit of “hitting the numbers,” people will do anything that’s legal without the slightest remorse—even if it grossly violates the spirit of the mission—and they will find ways to look more favorably upon what’s illegal.
