Meltdown: Why Our Systems Fail and What We Can Do About It - Softcover

A cautionary study in how complex systems can easily go awry... A useful, thought-provoking book. * Kirkus * Meltdown is essential reading for any leader. We are all human. We all make mistakes. But in complex, whirlwind environments, those mistakes can spiral quickly out of control. This book can help. * Anne-Marie Slaughter, author of Unfinished Business * Too often, we blame failures on bad apples when the real culprits are bad barrels. This engaging, evidence-based book sheds light on why blunders and bankruptcies happen-and how you can get better at designing systems to prevent them. * Adam Grant, author of Originals and co-author of Option B * As technology advances, it brings an explosion of complexity and interdependence that can threaten our most critical systems and organizations in unforeseen ways. Meltdown is essential reading for anyone who seeks to understand these dangers and what can be done to address them. * Martin Ford, bestselling author of Rise of the Robots * Not for the faint of heart. In crisp, compelling prose, the authors explain why failures occur so often in today's unfathomably complex systems. Their insights and takeaways offer crucial guidance for avoiding your own disasters. * Daniel H. Pink, bestselling author of Drive * Endlessly fascinating, brimming with insight, and more fun than a book about failure has any right to be, Meltdown will transform how you think about the systems that govern our lives. This is a wonderful book. * Charles Duhigg, author of The Power of Habit and Smarter Faster Better * Exciting and insightful. * Financial Times *

Financial Times' best business books of the year, 2018 'Endlessly fascinating, brimming with insight, and more fun than a book about failure has any right to be.' - Charles Duhigg, author of The Power of Habit What can we learn from our most disastrous failures? An accidental overdose in a state-of-the-art hospital. The Starbucks publicity stunt that spectacularly backfired. The mix-up at the 2017 Oscars ceremony. As technology rapidly advances, it brings with it an explosion of complexity that can trip us up. Meltdown uses real-life examples to reveal how errors in thinking, perception, and design lie behind both our everyday mistakes and our most terrifying disasters. It reveals how a five-minute exercise can prevent billion-dollar catastrophes, why teams with fewer experts are better at managing risk, and why diversity is one of our best safeguards against failure. This eye-opening book will change the way you see our complex world - and your place within it. 'Essential reading.' - Martin Ford, bestselling author of Rise of the Robots