What catastrophes have in common -- and how to keep them from happening to you! Introducing M3: the first systematic approach to Managing mistakes so they don't lead to disaster Building systems that prevent 'failure chains' from spiraling out of control Avoiding failures in preparation, strategy, execution, and culture Reducing the impact and cost of the mistakes you do make Also includes coverage of the unique 'mistake chains' facing entrepreneurs and small businesses. Every business disaster has one thing in common: the people in charge never saw it coming. The warnings were there. They didn't have to wreck their companies and their careers. But they let it happen. This book can keep it from happening to you. You will make mistakes. If you don't, you're not taking enough risk. But you can make fewer of them. You can catch them early. Keep them cheap. Learn from them. Whether you're in a global enterprise or a garage startup, Robert Mittelstaedt shows how. His techniques apply to everything from culture to strategy, customer safety to market share. They won't just help you avoid catastrophe: they'll help you improve profitability and business value, too. Stay on track. Stay off the front page of The Wall Street Journal. Read this book.

What do Enron, the Space Shuttle Columbia and 9/11 have in common? How a chain of mistakes can lead to disaster if they go unrecognised. How to build internal systems that prevent failure chains from spiralling out of control. Practical techniques for avoiding business failures - whether they arise from preparation, strategy, execution, or culture.

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.

The leadership landscape has begun to shift. Researchers have started to realize that previous conceptualizations of leadership that focus only on the positive aspects of leadership are too narrow and may represent a romantic notion of leadership. A growing body of inquiry has emerged with a focus on the darker side of leadership. Allowing for the possibility that leaders can also do harm, either intentionally or unintentionally, broadens the scope of leadership studies and serves to increase the practical implications of leadership research. This book brings together contributions by scholars from several different countries addressing topics such as narcissistic and destructive leadership, ethical leadership and leader errors.

Analyzes the costly mistakes of companies throughout the past quarter century to counsel business professionals on what not to do, in a guide that profiles key strategy failures and challenges popular beliefs about leadership, luck, and effective execution. 25,000 first printing.

Envision this scenario: An industrial manufacturer is breaking itself in three, and its board chair asks you, the chief financial officer, to step up to the helm of one of the spin-offs. You will take charge of everything, from plant operations and product marketing to human resources and governance practices. Are you ready to lead? In The Leader's Checklist, 10th Anniversary Edition: 16 Mission-Critical Principles, world-renowned leadership expert and Wharton professor Michael Useem shows you how to lead through any challenge—and shares how ITT's Denise Ramos did just that when she encountered this situation. In this illuminating guide, Useem offers a Leader's Checklist that will help you develop your ability to make good and timely decisions in unpredictable and stressful environments—for those moments when leadership really matters. To illustrate the principles, Useem examines where leaders go right—and wrong. He looks at:How Ramos, the former CEO of ITT, turned around the once-struggling enterprise; How AIG's tone-deaf response to the tumultuous events of the global financial crisis left the company vulnerable to one of the greatest corporate collapses in business history; andHow Virginia Rometty, the former executive chair of IBM, acquired and integrated a cloud-computing company to help turn around IBM's fortunes. Based on Useem's own research experience and an array of leadership investigators, thinkers, and practitioners, The Leader's Checklist offers actionable insights you can put into practice as a leader today.