The Law of Unintended Consequences

It’s not a law that’s taught in school — or really anywhere. Typically this law we can learn only through experience. However, it may be one of the most important and under-rated laws anyone can understand to succeed in life.

The reality is that most of the time things don’t work out the way we expect. Often our decisions have predictable outcomes — but there are usually also unintended consequences. Sometimes they’re positive — but all too often they are not.

I am often reminded of this law whenever I start to think about government policy. So much of government policy ends up having nearly as many unintended consequences as the intended ones.

Whether it’s wage controls during WWII leading to our system of employer-provided health care, or the war on drugs tearing apart communities of color through mass incarceration, or a startup pivoting after seeing how users really use their product — they are all example of times when the unintended consequences of an action, decision, or product outweighed the intended ones.

The same sorts of unintended consequences exist in every aspect of our personal and work lives. It’s impossible to predict these sorts of consequences perfectly — but it’s still worth thinking about them in advance and trying to predict. And, perhaps more importantly, it’s critical to watch for them after the fact — and adjust to the reality that may not match your expectations.

Originally published at jeffkeltner.com on October 30, 2018.