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Loots’ Law

  • Writer: WorkInWords
    WorkInWords
  • Nov 20, 2020
  • 2 min read

Updated: Jan 10, 2021

Written by Loot.

APOD antennae_hst

How many times have we found ourselves seduced by what looks like an interesting job. Under pressure to get work in or just the attraction of stacking the order book we know we are buying the work. We're starting on the back foot and trying to make up lost ground as we go. Perhaps we should take a moment to look at Loot's Law.


Loot’s Law Statistically analysed and algorithmically sense checked, Standard deviations done, all possible outcomes projected. Conclusion rationally reached and predictably, it’s terse, Loot says “good projects get better, bad projects get worse”.


Good project, well-conceived, timely, considered, deliverable, We are ready, we’re prepared, team commitment unequivocal. We’ve gathered support, thoroughly coordinated our response, Success breeds success, value adds value, c’est nonchalance. Multiplier effect brings both mutual satisfaction and wealth, Teamwork promotes happiness, camaraderie and health.


Bad project, rushed, a favour and at its worse, an overdue IOU, Under resourced, on the back foot, just way too much to do. We’re out of our depth, and we’re busy chasing our tales, Our complete focus is on cost and no one cares about sales. However bad the forecast, be sure, when the death bell rings, The reality is worse, liabilities becoming millstone like things.


So there it is, business practitioners, you should all take heed, Be guided by clear rationale, ability and not desire or greed. Pick the right project for the inherent skills of your team, Listen to “Loot” don’t chase the elusive, unattainable dream.

Loot,2015

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Image with this poem: Two galaxies are squaring off in Corvus and here are the latest pictures. When two galaxies collide, however, the stars that compose them usually do not. This is because galaxies are mostly empty space and, however bright, stars only take up only a small amount of that space. During the slow, hundred million year collision, however, one galaxy can rip the other apart gravitationally, and dust and gas common to both galaxies does collide. In the above clash of the titans, dark dust pillars mark massive molecular clouds are being compressed during the galactic encounter, causing the rapid birth of millions of stars, some of which are gravitationally bound together in massive star clusters.

Credit: NASA, ESA, and the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA)-ESA/Hubble Collaboration. Acknowledgment: B. Whitmore (Space Telescope Science Institute) et al.


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