Trigger Question #123:
One reason we plan is to help future things go right instead of wrong. So we agonize over why we do what, how and when, by whom. And then we expect it to happen the way we intended. Because we planned it.
When it doesn’t go as planned, we act surprised. And blame Murphy.
Edward A. Murphy Jr. was an American aerospace engineer who, frustrated with the failure of rocket sled tests in 948/49, said, “If there are two or more ways to do something and one of those results in a catastrophe, then someone will do it that way.”
But humans have a knack for refining and improving things over time. Hence, it did not take long for Murphy’s lament to become Murphy’s Law: “Anything that can go wrong will go wrong.”
(The British, being somewhat more pessimistic, have their own version of Murphy’s Law, called Sod’s Law: “If something can go wrong, it will.” The difference is subtle. Murphy states that something will go wrong. Eventually. Whereas according to Sod’s Law it will always go wrong.)
The point of these two laws is simple. Beware of nasty surprises, because they will happen. At work, one nasty surprise you want to avoid at all costs is your boss asking you to explain your bewilderment when things don’t go as planned. Here’s a simple way to avoid that and other nasty surprises.
Once you have a plan, but before you implement it, count the ways it could go wrong. Don’t stop counting after only a few obvious possible blunders. Dig for bigger bloopers. Dig deeper for covert cock-ups. Go deep enough to fabricate a few fantastical f… mess ups.
Why?
Because if you can imagine it, you can prevent it. Or at least blunt its impact.
Above all, because it is cheaper to take precautions than to claim insurance. Or to rebuild reputations.
Welcome to my side of the nonsense divide.
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Quote of the Moment:
“If you think it can go right, or wrong, it could.” The Chief Nonsense Officer.
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