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All of us have been subject to Murphy's Law at some time or the other. Haven't you had the proverbial situation when the toast fell buttered side down on the floor? Parents of little kids cant but agree with such laws as they find their little ones and not-so-little ones proving that they are no exceptions to the rule. Nowhere do Murphy's laws apply more than to the corporate environment. Read up on some of the popular adaptations of Murphy's Law.
What is the Origin of Murphy's law?
Murphy's Law, as it has come to be known, took root at the Edwards Air Force Base in 1949. Captain Edward A. Murphy was an engineer working on a project that measured how much sudden deceleration a person could stand in the event of a crash. This project was USAF project MX981 – the test for human acceleration tolerances. One of the experiments needed a set of 16 accelerometers to be mounted to different parts of the subject's body. This could be done in two ways. As was expected, the person involved had glued all the parts the wrong way around. This caused Capt. Murphy to utter ‘If it could be done wrong, in all probability it would'. The Air Force doctor, Dr. John Paul Stapp later gave a press conference to the effect that the safety record on this project was largely due to the belief in Murphy's Law and stringent steps being undertaken to circumvent it.
Never would have anybody imagined that this casual statement would provide a tongue-in-cheek yet accurate account on the laws of life. Let us look at some of Murphy's important laws and also their adaptations to various situations.
Murphy's Laws
- If something can go wrong, it will.
- If anything simply cannot go wrong, it will anyway.
- Left to themselves, things tend to go from bad to worse.
- Matter is damaged in direct proportion to its value.
- The chance of the bread falling buttered side down is directly proportional to the cost of the carpet.
- The opulence of the front office décor is inversely proportional to the fundamental solvency of the company.
- Tell a man that there are 250 billion stars in the universe and chances are that he will believe you. But try telling him that the bench has wet paint and he will touch to be sure.
Murphy's Law for Mothers
Mothers are very typical too. Read through some of these laws on mothers and you will be able to find your mom there!
- There are two occasions when mothers offer advice – when you want it and when you don't!
- Your mom is the only person who knows you more than you probably know about yourself.
- Maternal instinct is a rather strong force to contend with. The only one that probably comes close is the IRS collection agent.
- No matter how wrong you are; your mother will not hold it against you. She may nag you about it many times, but she will not hold it against you.
- Usually the motherly advice that you ignore will turn out to be the best advice your mom ever gave you.
Toddler Murphy Laws
If you are a parent, you would have faced many a situation that has proved Murphy's Law right over and over again! The family is all set to leave for a picnic – the bags are packed, the door is shut and the child has been suitably attired with warm clothes and a snowsuit. The car has just left the driveway and the kid will want to use the bathroom!
- Have you noticed that the amount of sound that comes from the other room is inversely proportional to the amount of trouble the child is getting into?
- The more time that has been spent in preparing a meal, the less likely is the child to eat it.
- Any parent will vouch for the fact that the intensity of a tantrum is directly proportional to the amount of people around.
Murphy's Law in Management Philosophy
Corporate situations lend themselves to Murphys Law very easily. Here are some adaptations of Murphys Law to business management.
- Nothing is as easy as it looks.
- Everything takes longer than you think
- If there is a possibility of several things going wrong, the one that will cause the most damage will be the one to go wrong.
- If there is a worse time for something to go wrong, it will happen then.
- If everything seems to be going well, you have obviously overlooked something.
- It is impossible to make anything foolproof because fools are so ingenious.
- Every solution breeds new problems.
- Complex problems have simple, easy-to understand wrong answers.
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