The designer’s handbook of eponymous laws — part 3: management
Eponymous laws express truths in concise, interesting, and sometimes funny ways. They reflect — and induce reflection — on the human condition, as well as the workings of science, math, and technology.
In this four-part series, I’ll share some of the most interesting Eponymous Laws I’ve come across. Ones that are relevant for designers, but that speak to the disciplines of business and strategy, human behavior, management, and technology. Disciplines we designers engage with on a daily basis.
I didn’t add commentary because they speak for themselves.
I’d love to know the ones you like. Share others I missed in the comments. Stay tuned for the last one. And, as always, enjoy. 😊
№ 1a—Murphy’s Law
“Anything that can go wrong will go wrong.”
№ 1b—Finagle’s Law
“Anything that can go wrong, will — at the worst possible time.”
№ 2 — Hofstadter’s Law
“It always takes longer than you expect, even when you take into account Hofstadter’s Law.”
№ 3—Parkinson’s Law
“Work expands to fill the time available for its completion.”
№ 4 — Postel’s Law
“Be conservative in what you do; be liberal in what you accept from others.”
№ 5— Premack’s Principle
“More probable behaviors will reinforce less probable behaviors.”
№ 6 — Brooke’s Law
“Adding manpower to a late software project makes it later.”
№ 7—Peter Principle
“In a hierarchy, every employee tends to rise to his level of incompetence.”
№ 8 — Papert’s Principle
“Some of the most crucial steps in mental growth are based not simply on acquiring new skills, but on acquiring new administrative ways to use what one already knows.”
№ 9—Putt’s Law
“Technology is dominated by two types of people: those who understand what they do not manage and those who manage what they do not understand.”
№ 10 — Rosenthal Effect
“Higher expectations lead to an increase in performance, or low expectations lead to a decrease in performance.”
№ 11 — Wiio’s Law
“Communication usually fails, except by accident.”
