Breaking programming best practices can lead to tangible benefits, particularly when it comes to performance. However, this requires understanding the rationale behind coding standards and being able to assess trade-offs and context. A key takeaway is that monitoring code running in the real world, through end-to-end testing and synthetic monitoring, is crucial for truly understanding performance. This approach allows developers to make informed decisions about when to deviate from best practices, striking a balance between maintaining clean, standardized code and achieving performance efficiencies. By doing so, they can identify opportunities to optimize their code without sacrificing readability or maintainability.