The dawn of a New Year can be a time for celebration of life, a time for reflection of the past and especially a time to get ready for the future.

What will govern this preparation? Will we resolve to commit to omit? Will we enter the coming year with a youthful vision and later exit with a view reflecting senility? What are the rules that will govern our values for 2017?

A law that immediately comes to mind is Murphy’s Law, which simply states, “Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong.”

Do you believe that things will get better tomorrow? Murphy’s Law is very pessimistic about things getting better. We never know for sure what tomorrow will bring. Therefore, we better make the most of today as tomorrow could certainly be worse.

This view offers us a law that will provide guidance through next year. Subsequently, we need a principle to help us understand what we may be experiencing later in the year.

The search for a guiding principle should encourage us to consider the Peter Principle that stipulates, “Individuals tend to rise to their level of incompetence.”

In a policymaking structure, the potential for advancement is often based on an administrator’s recent performance. Eventually this results in the bureaucrat being promoted to their highest level of incompetence and fulfilling a role in which they are not skilled to serve.

Support for the “level of incompetence” adage also can be found in the Dilbert Principle, which satirizes technology, workplace and company matters. Here the theory presented in the cartoon Dilbert states that companies tend to systematically promote their least-competent employees to management. In turn, this limits the amount of damage leaders will be able to do in their job by removing these less capable individuals from the production areas.

On a side note, it is interesting that Murphy’s Law, the Peter and Dilbert principles have many books and articles written about their theories and each of their names have been included in the titles of successful TV series.

Have these laws and principles combined to create a new strategy for our current and future leaders? Will understanding of the various aspects of Murphy’s Law, the Peter Principle and Dilbert’s Principle modify the characteristics of those in leadership positions?

If that change is possible, let us be tolerant and see how the coming year plays out and in whose favor.

Sammamish resident Larry Crandall is a retired educator who currently serves on the city’s Planning Commission.