Industrialism brought us the idea of optimization. Incremental improvements combined with measurement to gradually improve results.
We can optimize for precision. A car made in 2026 is orders of magnitude more reliable because the parts fit together so well.
We can optimize for customer satisfaction. By reviewing every element of a user’s experience, we can remove the annoyances and increase delight.
We can optimize a horror movie to make it scarier, and we can optimize a workout to make it more effective.
Lately, though, the fad is to optimize for short-term profit.
This will probably get you a bonus. It means degrading the experience of customers, suppliers and employees in exchange for maximizing quarterly returns.
Make a list of every well-known organizational failure (from big firms like Yahoo to Enron to Sears all the way to the little pizza place down the block) and you’ll see the short-term optimizer’s fingerprints.
You can’t profit maximize your way to greatness.