Murphy's Law and Leadership

1> If anything can go wrong, it will (e.g. if you drop a piece of toast, it will inevitably fall jam-side down.)
2> Nothing is as easy as it looks.
3> Everything takes longer than you think it will.
4> Whatever you've planned to do costs more than the original estimate.
5> There is nothing sadder than a great idea whose time has not come.
6> Whatever project you set out to do,some other project must be done first.
7> Although you can't fool all of the people all of the time, you can sure fool a lot of the people a lot of the time.
8> By making something perfectly clear, someone will be totally confused.
9> Every great idea has a disadvantage equal to, or exceeding, the greatness of the idea.
10> Precise planning, minute attention to detail and exact timing never succeed like dumb luck.

Here is the link to the above list that I found through a search on Google. http://ibm.mtsac.edu/~rlee/axioms4.html

You might be wondering what Murphy's Law and leadership have in common or how they could be relative. I am using this as a demonstration of why it is important for leaders to invest time in the proper preparation of their resources to execute their strategic plans despite the emergence of unforeseen obstacles. A vision needs to be cast by the leader, and then the real investment of time, efforts, money, etc., will begin. As a leader, I encourage you to slow down your efforts or "pull back the reigns" on yourself to make sure that the journey is one of not only accomplishment but of professional development. Even if you do everything right, Murphy's Law can still render itself in an attempt to negatively impact your ability to be successful. Good leaders are prepared and knowingly have a contingency plan or excess capacity in order to deal with detrimental issues. If properly prepared, strong leaders will overcome and lead their teams to higher levels regardless of the magnitude of obstacles. Just like the Boy Scouts say...."Be Prepared."

In what way has Murphy's Law made an appearance with regards to your business? Did you have your contingency plan ready?