diff --git a/hack/make-rules/make-help.sh b/hack/make-rules/make-help.sh
index 270b17d6c03..a9d750b3919 100755
--- a/hack/make-rules/make-help.sh
+++ b/hack/make-rules/make-help.sh
@@ -18,8 +18,9 @@ set -o errexit
 set -o nounset
 set -o pipefail
 
-readonly red=$(tput setaf 1)
-readonly reset=$(tput sgr0)
+red=$(tput setaf 1)
+reset=$(tput sgr0)
+readonly red reset
 
 KUBE_ROOT=$(dirname "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}")/../..
 ALL_TARGETS=$(make -C "${KUBE_ROOT}" PRINT_HELP=y -rpn | sed -n -e '/^$/ { n ; /^[^ .#][^ ]*:/ { s/:.*$// ; p ; } ; }' | sort)