Will Your Next Mistake Be Fatal?: Avoiding the Chain of Mistakes That Can Destroy Your Organization

Description:

What do Enron, the Space Shuttle Columbia and 9/11 have in common? Catastrophes don't 'just happen.' From Enron to the Space Shuttle Columbia to 9/11, virtually every disaster is the end result of a long series of small mistakes -- each one easy to overlook, and set in motion because people simply refused to believe the evidence staring right at them. Robert E. Mittelstaedt first identifies the common factors beneath massive failures ranging from Watergate to Firestone Tire, Three Mile Island to 'New Coke.' Why did they happen? What could have prevented them? How did they spiral out of control? Then, drawing on these lessons, he introduces 'M3': the first systematic approach to managing multiple mistakes so they don't lead to disaster. Mittelstaedt addresses errors in preparation, execution, strategy, and culture. He shows how to build internal systems that trigger loud and actionable alarms before 'failure chains' accelerate beyond control. Mittelstaedt's techniques don't just apply to high-profile disasters: they're equally valuable in helping you avert failures arising from mistakes in analyzing markets, understanding customers, assessing feedback, or directing investments. Don't want the next failure to be yours? Read this book.

 

Table of Contents:

Introduction.

1. The Power of M3 and the Need to Understand Mistakes.

    Patterns of Mistakes and Exponential Growth.

    Deadly Business Mistakes–Strategy, Execution, and Culture.

    Can Technology Change the Odds?

    Mental Preparation, Patterns, and Warning Signs.

2. Execution Mistakes.

     “Fly the Airplane”–Christmas Carols in the Everglades.

    Coca-Cola–Don’t Change the Formula, Change the CEO.

    American Express Surprises the Market with Optima–Then Optima Surprises AmEx.

    Failing to Learn–Air Florida Flies North.

    Breaking the Chain with Skill and Extraordinary Luck–The “Gimli Glider”.

    Webvan–Do You Want Someone to Deliver Your Groceries?

    Why Do We Fail to Learn?

    Insights.

3. Execution Mistakes and Successes as Catalysts for Change.

    Intel and the “Father Knows Best” Response.

    Tylenol Relieves a Headache =.

     “We’re Not Going to Make the Airport”–The Case for CRM.

    New Coke–Understanding Customers and Capabilities.

    Insights: Different Products and Services with Similar Lessons for Transformation.

4. Strategy–How Do You Know It’s a Mistake?

    Xerox–No Walk in the PARC.

    Motorola’s Reinventions–Does a Cat Have Nine Lives?

    Kodak–Doing Everything “Right” for 100 Years.

    Recognizing Strategy Mistakes and Competitive Changes.

5. Physical Disasters with Cultural Foundations and Business Implications

    Titanic.

    Three Mile Island.

    NASA–Launch Unless Proven Unsafe.

    Common Cultural Issues.

    Insights.

    A Note on Big Ships, Big Planes, and Nuclear Power.

    Business Parallels

6. Cultures that Create “Accidents”.

    Myopia as a Fatal Business Disease.

    Ford/Firestone–When the Rubber Leaves the Road.

    Enron–Living on the Edge and Loving It.

7. Mistakes as Catalysts for Cultural Change.

    Fast Food: Customers Will Have It Their Way–Whether You Want Them to or Not.

    Rapid Culture Change in the U.S. Navy Submarine Force: No Second Chances.

    The Grand Canyon Changes Air Traffic Control

    Flying into the Ground–with Everything Working

    Cultural Success: Working Together to Learn in an Emergency–United 232.

    Marketing Your Culture Change.

    Companies/Industries in Need of Cultural Change–for Different Reasons.

8. Economics at Work: Watching Entire Industries Lose It.

    The World Automobile Industry–Trying to Defy the Laws of Economics.

    Number 1 or 2 in Your Industry–Where Did It Come From?

    Old and New Companies: Convergence, Specialization, and Evolution.

    Economic Business Visioning–the EBV Model.

    Flying High and Broke–Applying EBV in Undifferentiated Cutthroat Competition.

9. Mistakes Aren’t Just for Big Companies–Small Company Chains.

    Choose the Right Idea–Then Change It.

    Planning Your Mistakes–The Business Plan.

    Financing–Choose Your Poison.

    Operations–Implementation Is the Difference.

    Stopping the Mistake Sequence in Smaller Companies.

10. Making M3 Part of Your Culture for Success.

    Learning to Evaluate and Believe Early Warnings.

    Learning to Detect Dangerous Patterns and Strategic Blunders.

    The Need for Mistakes.

Appendix A: Summary of Insights.

    From Part 1:

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    From Part 3:

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    From Part 10:

References.

Index.