Contents

About the author

Acknowledgements

Foreword by Professor Terry Young

Introduction

Part 1 Understanding failure

1 Mentioning the unmentionable

    What failure looks like

    The omnipresence of failure

    Measuring success and failure

    Misrepresenting success and failure

    The infectiousness of failure

2 The pattern of failure: the Yosemite curve

    Phase 1: Struggle

    Phase 2: Denial

    Phase 3: Freefall

    Phase 4: Rock bottom

    Phase 5: Recovery

    Phase 6: Consolidation

3 Other types of failure

    Total failure: the Niagara drop

    Shallow failure: the Panama Canal passage

    Broadening failure: the Grand Canyon

Part 2 Avoiding failure

4 Passive warning signs

    Ignorance

    Certainty

    Complacency

5 Active alarm bells

    Obsession

    Manipulation

    Evasion

6 The cultural litmus test

    A reckless culture

    A culture of false reassurance

    A culture of gaming

    A culture of control

Part 3 Curing failure

7 Regaining confidence

    Talking to staff

    Reaching outside

    Responding

    Retaining momentum

    Trumpeting success

8 Getting back in control

    Digging till you find the cause

    Tackling immediate problems

    Rebuilding the mechanisms for managing

    Unlocking the organisation

Part 4 Succeeding

9 The opposite of failure

    Five key ideas

    Adapting

    Giving and receiving feedback

    Managing relentlessly

10 The importance of being honest

     The unbreakable triangle

     Honesty

     Passivity and fatalism

     Risk management and failure

     Understanding processes

     Redesigning to solve problems

11 Mining the data

     The devil is in the detail

     Finding the kernel of truth

     Approximating

     Using information for performance management

     Turning the world upside down

12 Fault tolerance, randomness and pattern

     Living with imperfection

     Managing the unknown

     Turning randomness into patterns

     Talent or luck?

13 Gauging the environment

     Horizon scanning

     Rule changes

     Togetherness and partnership

14 The attentive manager

     Dividing problems to tackle them

     Being attentive

     Elucidation

     Restricting your priorities

     Understanding what is important

15 Final thoughts

     Is success down to the individual or the approach?

     Management or leadership?

     Managing to lead

     Good at being imperfect

Appendix: A personal account

Index