definitions: sh!t doesn't just happen: the gift of failure

“DEFINITION: Shit Happens: life is full of unpredictable events and

there’s nothing we can do about it. Bad things happen to people for no

particular reason.”

BULL

The Donner Party: Social Disintegration

DEFINITION: Catastrophe:The final event of the dramatic action, especially of a tragedy.

An event causing great and often sudden damage or suffering; a

disaster.Utter failure.

The Challenger: Organizational Failure

DEFINITION: The Rule of 7: rarely does a disaster happens in

isolation or as the result of a single event. It usually requires a

minimum of 7 things to go wrong in order for a catastrophe. And one of those 7 is always human error.

The St. Francis Dam: Engineering Failure

DEFINITION: Cascade Event: An event prior to a catastrophe that

contributes to the actual catastrophe, but by itself, is not catastrophic.

DEFINITION: Final Event: A

catastrophic event. The culmination of at least six cascade events.

DEFINITION: Delusion Event: A cascade event that doesn’t lead to

a final event.

Custer: Leadership Failure

DEFINITION: Lose-lose scenarios: This is a training scenario where

there is no ‘right’ solution.

DEFINITION: Catastrophe mindset: Expecting that what can go wrong;

will.

Pearl Harbor

DEFINITION: Delusional mindset. Someone who has had success far beyond that which should be the norm, helped with an abnormal

amount of luck, believe the abnormal is normal and that their streak will continue indefinitely.

The Last Czar: Leadership Failure

DEFINITION: Cascade Stopper: A person designated as the check

and balance on a leader, especially under stressful situations.

Shit Doesn’t Just Happen: The Gift of Failure, Book I:

TitanicKegworth Plane Crash

Custer & Little Big HornThe Donner Party

New London Schoolhouse ExplosionTulips to the Housing Bubble

Apollo 13

Shit Doesn’t Just Happen: The Gift of Failure, Book II:

The Challenger ExplosionThe Last Czar

The Sultana ExplosionThe St. Francis Dam Failure

The Kursk SinkingPearl Harbor

Flight 871: ALIVE!

Meet Bob Mayer

Bob Mayer is a West Point Graduate,

former Green Beret and NY Times

Bestselling author of Factual Fiction.

www.bobmayer.orgwww.coolgus.com

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