The Lifecycle explains one of the natural forces at work driving change, but there are other factors at work as well. Parkinson’s Law is one of the more important of those natural forces impacting business negatively. Cyril Northcote Parkinson (30 July 1909 – 9 March 1993) was a British naval historian and author of some sixty books, the most famous of which was his bestseller Parkinson's Law, which led him to also be considered as an important scholar within the field of public administration. He is credited with the infallible observation that “work expands to fill available time” and by extension “expenses rise to meet income.” It is the idea that work creates work and thus management must be constantly diligent and alert—simplifying and eliminating. That is the ability that governments and bureaucracies seem unable to master. Without change dedicated to simplifying and eliminating, negative forces will drive a business into unsustainable levels of inefficiency.

PS: I will be signing my books at the Landmark Booksellers in Franklin TN on September 13, 2012 from 5:30 to 7:30. The event is called a Book Tasting and we will have wine (claret of course), cheese, snacks, free gifts and prizes. If you have already purchased The Claret Murders or any of my other books bring them with you to be signed.