Peter's Laws — The Secret of Exponential Growth

Peter's Laws — The Secret of Exponential Growth

In economics, there is a classic principle known as the Peter Principle, which says that people are eventually promoted to positions for which they are unfit. However, the “Peter’s Laws” discussed in this article are not that Peter Principle at all. In Bold: A Roadmap for Exponential Growth, bestselling author Peter Diamandis presents 28 principles of exponential growth that he has distilled from experience and collectively calls Peter’s Laws. For organizations and individuals hungry for growth—and especially rapid growth—these laws offer simple yet valuable guidance and are well worth considering.

Of course, the author’s intentions and thinking cannot be fully understood from the bare statements alone. In the book, he not only reflects on his own experience, but also analyzes and judges the possibilities and pathways of exponential growth in today’s world. He points out that digitization and new technologies are key drivers of exponential growth—an observation shared by many others—but even more important is a change in mindset. The twenty-eight Peter’s Laws are only a concentrated summary of the experience and wisdom contained in the book. To draw more nourishment from it, one still needs to explore the original work itself.

Peter’s Law 1: If something can go wrong, fix it now! (To hell with Murphy’s Law!)

Peter’s Law 2: When given a choice between two options, take both.

Peter’s Law 3: One more project means one more chance of success.

Peter’s Law 4: Start from a high point, then climb upward step by step.

Peter’s Law 5: You can do it by the book... but only if you become the author yourself.

Peter’s Law 6: When you are forced to compromise, ask for more.

Peter’s Law 7: If you can’t win, find a way to change the rules.

Peter’s Law 8: If you can’t change the rules, ignore them.

Peter’s Law 9: Perfection is not an option.

Peter’s Law 10: When there is no challenge, create one.

Peter’s Law 11: “No” means you should go one level higher.

Peter’s Law 12: If you can run, don’t walk.

Peter’s Law 13: When in doubt, think.

Peter’s Law 14: Patience is a virtue, but only if you remain patient until success arrives.

Peter’s Law 15: The squeaky wheel gets replaced first.

Peter’s Law 16: The faster you move, the more slowly time passes—and the longer you live.

Peter’s Law 17: The best way to predict the future is to create it yourself.

Peter’s Law 18: The ratio between “having” and “not having” is infinite.

Peter’s Law 19: You can only get it if you truly, intensely want it.

Peter’s Law 20: If you think it’s impossible, then it is impossible only for you.

Peter’s Law 21: An expert is someone who can only tell you what can’t be done.

Peter’s Law 22: The day before something becomes a breakthrough, it is still just a crazy idea.

Peter’s Law 23: If it were easy, it would already have been done.

Peter’s Law 24: If you have no goal, you will miss every time.

Peter’s Law 25: Fail early, fail often, and keep moving forward through failure.

Peter’s Law 26: If you can’t measure it, improve it.

Peter’s Law 27: The most precious resources in the world are persistent effort and passionate human minds.

Peter’s Law 28: Overcoming bureaucracy requires relentless persistence and extraordinarily strong conviction—sometimes even a bulldozer.