The ABCs of Murphy's Law

Murphy’s Law states that whatever can go wrong, will go wrong, and at the worst time possible. A couple of week's ago I had some experiences with Murphy's Law that prompted me to develop a strategy for keeping Murphy from messing me up ever again. Here’s my three-pronged strategy for dealing with Murphy's Law. I call it the ABC’s of dealing with Murphy:

1. Anticipate what might go wrong

When Murphy struck at me a few weeks ago I did not see it coming at all. All week I had prepared for all my engagements with complete confidence that everything was going to go as planned. This was a little naive from a leadership standpoint. My game plan now is to anticipate what might go wrong so that when it does go wrong, I can deal effectively with it.

2. Bring yourself to a state of calmness

Murphy left me in a panic that week because of the element of surprise. I failed to consciously make the choice of staying calm - actually when I talked to my contact at the non-profit organization, I used the word “flustered”. I was upset that I hadn’t made it for the highlight of my week. Today I choose to stay calm and not let Murphy govern my life.

3. Create systems that allow for success

Success in any endeavor is all about having the right systems. I took a good look at all the systems in my disposal and was able to align them so that I’m assured of victory over Murphy. A system allows you to quickly assess what's wrong and then fix it.