This is a snappy phrase which captures the impact of Campbell/Goodhart/Strathern’s law (see https://chosen-path.org/2026/01/06/how-code-modelling-eats-the-world-and-why-its-important-for-us-all/). One of my occasional excursions into 'origins' (https://stream.syscoi.com/2021/04/18/a-fools-quest-for-the-first-use-of-the-phrase-systems-thinking/ and elsewhere other famous quotes (https://chosen-path.org/2024/09/03/transformational-power-of-action/ springs to mind). The earliest two I can find are from journals and unfortunately the whole pages are not visible: Modern Photography - Volume 22 - Page … Continue reading Who first said ‘hitting the target but missing the point’? →

How code (modelling) eats the world — and why it’s important for us all. https://www.linkedin.com/posts/antlerboy_how-code-modelling-eats-the-world-and-activity-7414224107195494400-rtYd Campbell/Goodhart/Strathern’s law: when a metric becomes a basis for reward, punishment or control, it stops reliably representing the underlying reality and instead shapes behaviour to optimise the metric itself, often at the expense of the actual goal. Amazon had a brilliant … Continue reading How code (modelling) eats the world — and why it’s important for us all. →

I fed ChatGPT the transcript of two calls I made complaining about one of the many hassles I’ve had to deal with in the last few months. I dislike myself when I get angry and I'm frustrated that whatever I try seems ineffective, so I asked it to advise me how to be more effective … Continue reading High agency meets low discretion: why call centres break us (‘How not to lose your mind to a call centre’) →

A lot of this year has felt like living in a room where someone keeps rearranging the furniture in the dark. Reorganise, merge, separate, rename, publish a model, add a layer. We do it because it looks like action. It produces artefacts. It soothes the anxiety upstairs. But when the ground moves, gripping harder doesn’t … Continue reading My top posts in 2025 – all about how we avoid the real work →

This year some of my most-read posts were about my dad’s funeral, a cycle path, and why consultants with answers are a hazard. That feels accurate, because it’s the same subject in three guises: what happens when real life meets a system that thinks it’s in charge. A desire line in Vauxhall tells the truth … Continue reading Life versus categories – reflections on my top posts in 2025 →

Personal and Family 13,866 a little history of my dad, who died on 4 November this year – thanks everyone for the support https://www.linkedin.com/posts/antlerboy_phil-taylors-funeral-and-wake-monday-24-activity-7394511291580567552--ynZ - and his obituary in the Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/education/2025/nov/30/phil-taylor-obituary 6,960 A simple heartfelt appeal ‘don’t call *my* dad ‘dad’’ (surprisingly popular amongst medical viewers…) https://www.linkedin.com/posts/antlerboy_to-all-those-in-the-caringmedical-professions-activity-7405713268603764736-_vdi Everything Is Miscellaneous 11,599 reflections on a … Continue reading My top posts on Linkedin and the Chosen Path blog in 2025 →

My weekly posts Relational public services and reality I’ve seen RedQuadrant support councils by sending protected, person-centred social work teams to do complex case reviews. By focusing on what people want and can do, and by removing admin and system burdens from social workers, they deliver better experiences and save up to £17k per person each … Continue reading Transduction – leading transformation – Issue #203 →

What IF we enabled caring professionals to do good work? Join the conversation on LinkedIn. https://www.linkedin.com/posts/antlerboy_more-than-once-redquadrant-has-sent-social-activity-7406599731298324480-wwv9 More than once, RedQuadrant has sent social work teams to clients to do complex case reviews — with adults who have multiple complex needs, ‘dependency’ on social care, whose care packages can run into six figures. They do more reviews per day than in-house … Continue reading Relational public services and reality →

My weekly posts ‘When you realize the plot of the last 10 years was just a prologue…’ Over the last decade, things have felt like a relentless slog: Brexit, Covid, laying off colleagues, family bereavements, a nightmare house project, my dad’s decline and death, my own creaky health and work’s highs and lows. In the … Continue reading Transduction – leading transformation – Issue #202 →