The funny thing is that it's almost true by default. The mere fact of measuring something is often enough to drive improvements.

A couple of years ago, I installed the RunKeeper app on my phone and started tracking how long it took me to walk places. Over the course of a few months, my walking speed increased from a pokey 5 km/h (3mph) to 8 km/h (5 mph). I didn't install the app with the goal of walking faster; it just happened as a side-effect of regular feedback on how fast I was walking.