1. Why do you think unintended consequences happen?

Give examples
based on what you yourself have seen or experienced. How do you think
these unintended consequences have been prevented?
I believe unintended consequences happen whenever things are not 100% in our
control. Unintended consequences could be positive or negative as it depends on the
situation. Sometimes, luck takes part with these consequences. For example, as a stock
trader, it is my responsibility to minimize the risks of my trades. However, unintended
consequences are nearly impossible to avoid. I spend nights studying the market and
creating my watchlist of stocks for my trades. I also studied the different technical
analysis tools that could help me minimize the risks from trading. But there were many
times that even if I prepared everything for a certain trade, there are still unintended
consequences that might happen. In a certain instance, I projected a 20% gain from a
stock last October. I was confident and accepting that the only consequence that I could
bare would be the price action going down 5% below my capital. However, I was not
aware that the stock company I traded in would be suspended and would file a stock
price change. I ended up losing 80% of my capital for that stock. I also realized that is
the only trade I did without considering the fundamentals. It is when I understood that
making a one change within a complex system, can cause unintended consequences.
From that, I learned that even if we tried to minimize the risks of having unintended
consequences happen, the chances would be low, but it is never zero.

2. How does knowing about the nature of unintended consequences affect

you as a Filipino citizen? As a leader?
I believe knowing the nature of unintended consequences is very important
especially as these trying times. We should be open to every possibility that could affect
not only our life but also to many others. For example, in a very recent and timely news
of an Overseas Filipino Worker that infected a lot of people by violating the quarantine
protocol. The girl violated her quarantine restrictions and went to party in different bars
on población. She underestimated the virus that she thought she didn’t have it. Little did
she know that her actions could create multiple unintended consequences. Just
because she wanted to party, these things have happened: many people lost their jobs,
her friends got sick, there was a rampage of cancel culture in social media,
establishments in threat of closing, and many more. Just because of one action. We
always take good things for granted especially when it benefits us. Just because the
covid cases were lowering down in the country doesn’t mean the threat is done. Many
people failed to realize that our actions create a chain reaction. As a leader, it is very
important to know the nature of unintended consequences because we are the ones
making the big decisions that could affect the group. We should weigh in the
consequences that could arise by making certain decisions.