According to the principle of controllability, a manager is responsible only for what happens under their direct control. This principle allows for distinguishing the results of managerial decisions from the effects of other uncontrollable variables on business results. Although the use of the principle of controllability can have multiple benefits – in particular, it should guarantee evaluations not corrupted by exogenous variables over which managers have no power of control – in some situations even a measure that suffers from uncontrollable factors can provide important information for the purpose of evaluating managerial performance. An empirical analysis of the companies in the Russell 3000 index in situations of high unpredictability – as in the case of the Covid-19 pandemic – shows that companies tend to apply the principle of controllability in a flexible rather than rigid manner, adjusting business goals, monitoring of results, and managers’ compensation.