Overview

Most project managers will tell you that things rarely go exactly as planned, which is why it's important to have a contingency plan.

An adage known as Murphy's law suggests that if something can go wrong, it will. Your ability to adapt, pivot, and alter can make the difference between a well-executed project and one that fails to meet its objectives.

In this lesson, you will learn about flexibility, problem solving, and critical thinking. Drawing on these interrelated skills will help you navigate opportunities and challenges surrounding complexity and uncertainty. You will also learn how to manage and mitigate risk.

Reflection

Have you ever experienced Murphy's law, or had a day when it seemed like everything was going wrong? How did you manage?

OPTIONAL Video: What If Murphy's Law Was a Real Person?

The video What If Murphy's Law Was a Real Person? provides a lighthearted glimpse into the activities of Murphy S. Law, self-described "passive chaos creator", as he disrupts the lives of firefighters and emergency medical service professionals.

Video player icon with the words "embed video here".

This external video has auto-generated captions, which may contain errors. Download the transcript (PDF | DOC).

References

Fire Department Chronicles. (2021, December 7). What if Murphy's law was a real person? [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2i7PiXSgbwg