Sounds like you’ve experienced some poorly written goals!
For example:

“The very best salespeople hit their quota months before the end of the year, whereupon they start to delay the closing of their deals so that they can “bank” them and ensure that they begin the next year with a head start. Sales goals actually degrade the performance of top salespeople — they function as a ceiling on performance, not a catalyst for more of it.”

I’m well aware that this does happen in lots of circumstances — there are countless stories of bonuses paid off Jan-Nov performance, but targets set from Jan-Dec.

However, structuring targets so that they can’t be gamed is nothing new. Plenty of firms counter this specific example with commission that continues linearly with achievement over target, or even a commission plan that accelerates and grows as you exceed target!

What I certainly would say is goals and targets are often poorly planned and executed, and don’t maximise the output for employee OR company.