The Directors' Brief

The Directors' Brief

Business Concepts

Second-Order Effects

The Impact After the Impact

Richard Winfield's avatar
Richard Winfield
Dec 18, 2025
∙ Paid

Second-order effects are the knock-on consequences of a decision.
They are not the first, obvious result.
They are what happens next.

Many business decisions fail not because the first effect was wrong,
but because the second effect was ignored.

First-order effects: the obvious result

This is the direct and immediate outcome.

Examples:

  • Cut costs → spending goes…

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