To prevent the second from happening, you must, first of all, treat this principle with humor. But don't forget that there is a rational grain in it too.
Murphy's Law is a humorous philosophical principle that can be formulated as follows: “If any trouble can happen, then it will happen.” Or: “If anything can go wrong, it will.”
Russian-language analogues of this principle: the law of meanness or the law of sandwiches
The law owes its origin to Major Edward Murphy, who served as an engineer at a US Air Force base in 1949. It stated:
Here are some of them:
Despite the comic nature of Murphy's law, it still very often manifests itself in our lives in general and in some of its aspects. It can cost health, money, reputation and more. Therefore, it is important to understand how to deal with it.
Let's take an example from business, where this law manifests itself more often than ever.
Of course, you won't be able to prevent everything, but a significant number of potential problems can be avoided. It's all about a harmonious combination of preparation and foresight. Simply put, you can't exactly predict that you'll spill coffee on your shirt, but you can buy a spare one in advance.
In business the scale is much larger. If there is a potential threat to the company's network security, you should prepare a Plan B in advance, which clearly outlines the plan of action for this case. Or, for example, you are obliged to figure out how you will behave if a hurricane hits the city and cuts off all the electricity. However, there is no need to prepare for a zombie invasion.
Having a data backup and disaster recovery plan is extremely important. This is what makes the difference between a mild irritation and a potentially devastating blow.
Of course, some circumstances are simply impossible to predict. But others lie on the surface and only laziness can cause unpreparedness. Here are examples of so-called predictable results:
In these cases, you should assume the worst will happen and take reasonable precautions.
What are the reasons to prepare for the worst?
In other words, you can't rely on people even doing the same thing every day. Human error causes 70% of all workplace and industrial incidents.
In the end, we are all human. Therefore, you must be prepared for the possibility that your employee will connect a wire incorrectly, send an email to the wrong place, or miss a meeting.
Think about it this way: when you want to eat, you're less likely to wait for a closed restaurant to open. Instead, you will choose the one that will satisfy your need right now.
Murphy's Law here states that even minor downtime in some aspect can harm the business. Be it the discrimination to get through or delay in delivery due to the fault of the post office. This makes customers angry.
The cost of downtime can be staggering. To calculate the damage, you need to add the following:
In all these cases, there is a chance to reduce losses to a minimum. It's about creating a contingency plan. This is the proverbial plan B.
The first step is to list all the potential risks that may arise. The second step: arrange them in order of the magnitude of possible damage. The third step: prepare for the most serious of them. Fourth step: create a plan B, which should indicate who will do what in the event of force majeure.
How to distinguish the right mood from the wrong one?
It's one thing when you care about dealing with a potential problem. And it's completely different if you're simply nervous and irritated.
Worrying will not help at all if a negative event occurs. But if you have a plan that you create in a calm environment, your chances of minimizing the damage as much as possible are greatly increased.
Psychologists have long proven that careful preparation kills stress. When a person does something that he thinks helps him, there is great relief. So whenever you think about a negative future, ask yourself whether you are in the right or wrong frame of mind now.
It is extremely important to ask yourself the right questions. For example:
Once you have written down these questions, begin to methodically and unemotionally search for answers. The bigger, the better. Ask your team members what they think about this. This is indeed a difficult process, like any planning, but such a strategy will help you effectively respond to the problem in the future.
And remember that positive thinking works too. So once you've created a Plan B and feel like you've prepared for the unexpected, start thinking positive. Murphy's Law is your friend, but it remains so in small doses. Once you overdo it, life will begin to seem full of dangers and enemies.
It's also worth mentioning that it's often all about perception. We swing the pendulum too much: for us, there is either a very good day or a lousy one. And not only a day, but also a thing, a job, a game, an experience, a person. Of course, this is not true. When you're in a bad mood, a lot of things are perceived through the prism of black and white thinking. So the first question you need to answer is: Am I really dealing with Murphy's Law, or am I just wanting to see the worst? And only after an honest answer, begin to act.
Murphy's Law is a humorous philosophical principle that can be formulated as follows: “If any trouble can happen, then it will happen.” Or: “If anything can go wrong, it will.”
Russian-language analogues of this principle: the law of meanness or the law of sandwiches
The law owes its origin to Major Edward Murphy, who served as an engineer at a US Air Force base in 1949. It stated:
This law itself, of course, was not invented by Edward Murphy. Humanity has long noticed it and expressed this principle in a variety of forms.
Examples of Murphy's Law
Since the media popularized Murphy's Law, many people have begun to compete in wit and come up with their own examples (or take them from life).Here are some of them:
- Law of Mechanical Repair: Once your hands become covered in grease, your nose is bound to start itching.
- The law of gravity: any dropped tool will turn over so that it is as difficult as possible for you to pick it up.
- Law of Probability: The likelihood of being observed is directly proportional to the stupidity of your behavior.
- Law of Random Numbers: If you dial the wrong number, the other end will not be busy, but someone will definitely answer.
- Law of Alibi: If you lie to your boss and say you were late because you had a flat tire, you will definitely have a flat tire the next day.
- Law of Queuing: Your queue will always move slower than others, even if you change it.
- Bathroom law: when your body is immersed in water, someone will definitely call on the phone (the highest meanness is at the door, and a person advertising plastic windows).
- Law of Meeting: The likelihood of meeting someone you know increases significantly when you go with someone you don't want to be seen with. The law also applies to women who did not wash their hair or quickly ran out to the store in their home clothes.
- Law of the office: if a computer program does not work and you ask someone for help, then as soon as he comes, everything will function properly.
- Law of biomechanics: you will itch exactly the part of your body that is most difficult to scratch at that moment.
- Law of the theater: people whose seats are further from the aisle are most often late.
- Law of Locks: If there are only two people in a locker room at a time, they will have adjacent lockers.
- The Logical Argument Riddle: Anything is possible if you don't know what you're talking about.
- Shoe law: the size you want is out of stock.
- The law of doctors: if you feel unwell and make an appointment with a doctor, then by the time you cross the threshold of the office, you will come to your feelings. If you don't make an appointment, you will continue to get sick.
- Will and Guy's Law: If you don't save the file, something will happen to your computer and it will be deleted.
- Law of Annoyance: When you put away an unnecessary tool while working on a project, it will be needed immediately.
- Bank law: you are offered a loan when you do not need it.
- Cayo's Law: If you are late, the event will definitely start on time.
- Cheops' Law: Nothing is ever built on schedule or within budget.
- Law of Time Management: The first 80% of a project usually takes 20% of the time, the remaining 20% of the project takes 80% of the time.
Despite the comic nature of Murphy's law, it still very often manifests itself in our lives in general and in some of its aspects. It can cost health, money, reputation and more. Therefore, it is important to understand how to deal with it.
Let's take an example from business, where this law manifests itself more often than ever.
Murphy's Law in Business
When Murphy's Law manifests itself in your daily life, it is not so scary and most likely only causes irritation. In business, big money can be at stake, so every businessman wants to protect himself from this law.Of course, you won't be able to prevent everything, but a significant number of potential problems can be avoided. It's all about a harmonious combination of preparation and foresight. Simply put, you can't exactly predict that you'll spill coffee on your shirt, but you can buy a spare one in advance.
In business the scale is much larger. If there is a potential threat to the company's network security, you should prepare a Plan B in advance, which clearly outlines the plan of action for this case. Or, for example, you are obliged to figure out how you will behave if a hurricane hits the city and cuts off all the electricity. However, there is no need to prepare for a zombie invasion.
Having a data backup and disaster recovery plan is extremely important. This is what makes the difference between a mild irritation and a potentially devastating blow.
Of course, some circumstances are simply impossible to predict. But others lie on the surface and only laziness can cause unpreparedness. Here are examples of so-called predictable results:
- The seller must anticipate the loss of its largest customer due to an economic downturn.
- The marketer must anticipate that the product launch strategy may be undermined if deficiencies are identified.
- Managers must anticipate that their best employee may leave for a competitor because it offers a higher salary.
- A software developer must anticipate that the reputation of its product may suffer due to server malfunctions.
In these cases, you should assume the worst will happen and take reasonable precautions.
What are the reasons to prepare for the worst?
Human error
You can never completely control what other people do. There are many factors in human actions such as level of learning, emotional state, stress and even physical fatigue.In other words, you can't rely on people even doing the same thing every day. Human error causes 70% of all workplace and industrial incidents.
In the end, we are all human. Therefore, you must be prepared for the possibility that your employee will connect a wire incorrectly, send an email to the wrong place, or miss a meeting.
Customer Satisfaction
It's no secret that modern consumers demand trouble-free operation and availability of the website, delivery services and much more that your company needs.Think about it this way: when you want to eat, you're less likely to wait for a closed restaurant to open. Instead, you will choose the one that will satisfy your need right now.
Murphy's Law here states that even minor downtime in some aspect can harm the business. Be it the discrimination to get through or delay in delivery due to the fault of the post office. This makes customers angry.
Simple
Here we are talking not only about a reputational blow. Small companies lose a lot of money due to downtime.The cost of downtime can be staggering. To calculate the damage, you need to add the following:
- Lost clients
- Lost money due to some staff not being available
- Lost ROI potential from employee actions
- Reputational damage
In all these cases, there is a chance to reduce losses to a minimum. It's about creating a contingency plan. This is the proverbial plan B.
The first step is to list all the potential risks that may arise. The second step: arrange them in order of the magnitude of possible damage. The third step: prepare for the most serious of them. Fourth step: create a plan B, which should indicate who will do what in the event of force majeure.
Murphy's Law and Psychology
We have already said that excessive enthusiasm for Murphy's Law can make a person paranoid, who sees only the worst in all life events. But with the right mindset, there is only one benefit to be gained.How to distinguish the right mood from the wrong one?
- If you think about Murphy's Law in relation to your specific life situation and calmly prepare for the worst, this is the right mindset.
- If you're worried that the worst may happen, but you're not willing to think about risk and probability, and you're not creating a Plan B, then you're in the wrong mindset.
It's one thing when you care about dealing with a potential problem. And it's completely different if you're simply nervous and irritated.
Worrying will not help at all if a negative event occurs. But if you have a plan that you create in a calm environment, your chances of minimizing the damage as much as possible are greatly increased.
Psychologists have long proven that careful preparation kills stress. When a person does something that he thinks helps him, there is great relief. So whenever you think about a negative future, ask yourself whether you are in the right or wrong frame of mind now.
It is extremely important to ask yourself the right questions. For example:
- What are the five worst things that could happen in my professional or personal life?
- How might these problems develop?
- What are the possible options?
- How can I respond to them effectively?
- How will I feel when something bad happens?
- What stress relief strategies do I need in this case?
- What can go wrong in the event of force majeure?
Once you have written down these questions, begin to methodically and unemotionally search for answers. The bigger, the better. Ask your team members what they think about this. This is indeed a difficult process, like any planning, but such a strategy will help you effectively respond to the problem in the future.
And remember that positive thinking works too. So once you've created a Plan B and feel like you've prepared for the unexpected, start thinking positive. Murphy's Law is your friend, but it remains so in small doses. Once you overdo it, life will begin to seem full of dangers and enemies.
It's also worth mentioning that it's often all about perception. We swing the pendulum too much: for us, there is either a very good day or a lousy one. And not only a day, but also a thing, a job, a game, an experience, a person. Of course, this is not true. When you're in a bad mood, a lot of things are perceived through the prism of black and white thinking. So the first question you need to answer is: Am I really dealing with Murphy's Law, or am I just wanting to see the worst? And only after an honest answer, begin to act.
