Laws Consultants Should Know
Consulting is messy. These timeless laws help you spot patterns early, manage the chaos, and steer complex work toward outcomes that actually stick.
No, not laws Parliaments make. Im talking about timeless laws of the universe you can't see, but you feel every day.
Every consultancy starts with good intent, sensible plans, and a calendar that looks almost reasonable.
Over time, I noticed the same patterns recurring. Work expands when you give it too much room. Timelines slip even when you try to be realistic. Metrics drift away from the outcome they were meant to protect. Rooms full of smart people focus on the parts that feel safe while the harder conversations circle quietly under the covers. This isn't failure, consultancies are almost always messy. It is just how complex work behaves when humans are involved.
So this is my running collection of the “laws”, how they show up in consulting, how to stop them in their tracks and how to break them. Take them with a small grain of salt, a smile, and what I see as the take-home for consultants.
Murphy’s Law
If something can go wrong, it will.
Consulting translation
- It usually happens four minutes before a client presentation.
- The one stakeholder you didn’t brief will be the loudest.
- The trusted data source updates mid-meeting like it’s sentient.
- The “simple change” touches fourteen systems and one guy named Greg who is on leave.
- Your “low likelihood” risk has already booked a calendar invite.
How to break the law
- Run a pre-mortem: “It’s six months later and this failed. Why?”
- Have backup slides, numbers, and stories.
- Brief the skeptic early.
- Assume humans, systems, and Wi-Fi will betray you.
Sh*t happens. Don't let Murphys law get you down
Parkinson’s Law
Work expands to fill the time available. Give a task two weeks and it will discover new rabbit holes to follow.
Consulting translation
- Two weeks can become a 47-slide deck that clients won't appreciate as much as you invested in it.
- You wrote a novel. They ordered a tweet.
- More time rarely improves the decision that needs to be made. It increases slide count.
If you’ve ever felt the pressure, doubted your value, or wondered if you’re an impostor in your own career, pull up a chair and stay awhile.
How to break the law
- Start with the “due tomorrow” version.
- Go for a minimum viable product
- Define Done before you start.
- Test ugly drafts early with your client
- Book early check-ins. Parkinson's law hates witnesses.
Over-polishing without engaging stakeholders early can end in tears.
