Dirty Rotten Strategies: How We Trick Ourselves and Others into Solving the Wrong Problems Precisely (High Reliability and Crisis Management) [Hardcover]

Ian I. Mitroff (Author), Abraham Silvers (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0804759960 | ISBN-13: 978-0804759960 | Publication Date: October 21, 2009

People and organizations are perfectly capable of making the most outrageous missteps. But, how does a person, organization, or society know that it is committing an error? And, how can we tell that when others are steering us down wrong paths?

Dirty Rotten Strategies delves into how organizations and interest groups lure us into solving the "wrong problems" with intricate, but inaccurate, solutions. Authors Ian I. Mitroff and Abraham Silvers argue that we can never be sure if we have set our sights on the wrong problem, but there are definite signals that can alert us to this possibility.

While explaining how to detect and avoid dirty rotten strategies, the authors put the media, healthcare, national security, academia, and organized religion under the microscope. They offer a biting critique that examines the failure of these major institutions to accurately define our most pressing problems. For example, the U.S. healthcare industry strives to be the most technologically advanced in the world, but, our cutting-edge system does not ensure top-quality care to the largest number of people.

Readers will find that far too many institutions have enormous incentives to let us devise elaborate solutions to the wrong problems. As Thomas Pynchon said," If they can get you asking the wrong questions, then they don't have to worry about the answers."

From a political perspective, this book shows why liberals and conservatives define problems differently, and demonstrates how each political view is incomplete without the other. Our concerns are no longer solely liberal or conservative. In fact, we can no longer trust a single group to define issues across the institutions explored in this book and beyond.

Dirty Rotten Strategies is a bipartisan call for anyone who is ready to think outside the box to address our major concerns as a society—starting today.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. A pleasant surprise for anyone frustrated with the way complex problems are misconstrued and dumbed-down in daily life, this challenge from business scholars Mitroff and Silvers goes out to media, higher education, health care, and American institutions ranging from government to celebrity, to demonstrate the relevance of concepts in statistical analysis known as "type three" and "type four" errors. Though they're given to philosophical ranting, the authors never struggle with their complex ideas, keeping the text readable for anyone with problems to solve, resolve, absolve or dissolve (i.e., everyone). Those familiar with statistics will find their frustrations with the false type-one/type-two error dichotomy well articulated and addressed, but the theories will connect with anyone who enjoys thinking outside the box. The pair also advocates a new way of considering problems, not just a way of prioritizing them, demonstrating the necessity of new modes of critical thinking when approaching the orthodoxy of American institutions.

Review

"Ian Mitroff has done it again; He and Abraham Silvers have opened our eyes. Here's a lucid and thoughtful account of why we fail to be adequately lucid and thoughtful—and what we can do about it. Bravo!"
—Robert B. Reich, Professor of Public Policy, University of California at Berkeley, former U.S. Secretary of Labor, and author of Supercapitalism: The Transformation of Business, Deomcracy, and Everyday Life

"A bracingly powerful book, which should be required reading for all professionals and experts of every stripe. It will liberate all readers from the tyranny of conventional reasoning. The authors give new meaning to Veblen's classic phrase, "trained incompetence." —-Warren Bennis, University Professor, University of Southern California and co-author of Transparency and Judgment

"Dirty Rotten Strategies is insightful, provocative, and important." —-Karen Armstrong, Best-selling author of The Spiral Staircase

"Ian Mitroff and Abraham Silvers nail one of the most pressing challenges of our time. In a deeper way, they show how we can get so distracted by our assessment of a problem that—no matter how well-executed the solution—it can be a complete waste of time, often making the problem much worse! The "War on Drugs" comes to mind as an example[]This book is a wake-up call for problem solvers."
—John Renesch, futurist and author of Getting to the Better Future: A Matter of Conscious Choosing

"Mitroff and Silvers suggest that our current challenges are 'wicked problems' that can only be managed by mixing conventional and highly unconventional ways of looking at the world. Incisive and original, Dirty Rotten Strategies demonstrates just how valuable systematic thinking can be in helping America to clean up all of its 'messes.'" —Morley Winograd, Executive Director of the Institute for Communication Technology Management, USC Marshall School of Business and co-author of Millennial Makeover

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 232 pages
• Publisher: Stanford Business Books (October 21, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0804759960
• ISBN-13: 978-0804759960
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #533,130 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Project managers need to read this book., March 29, 2010

By 

Lon Roberts - Author "SPC for Right-Brain... (Plano, TX) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dirty Rotten Strategies: How We Trick Ourselves and Others into Solving the Wrong Problems Precisely (High Reliability and Crisis Management) (Hardcover)

Regardless of your political leanings, this is a must-read book for anyone who cares about clear-headed thinking and the ploys that are used to trick us into solving the wrong problems. When "solving the wrong problem" is done unintentionally, the authors refer to this as a Type III error; when it is intentional, they refer to this as a Type IV error.

In essence the book is about qualitative analysis involving high-stakes situations, though the authors don't refer to it as such. It speaks to the logic that is involved (or should be involved) in properly framing and characterizing complex societal problems ... long before the statistician starts crunching numbers. I highly recommend the book to policy makers, decision makers, aspiring statisticians, or anyone, for that matter, who wants to recognize when and how they are being manipulated by politicians, the media, advertisers, think tanks, SIGs, etc. Also, as one who instructs and consults project managers, I believe PMs would benefit from recognizing that many of the requirements-related problems they encounter are essentially Type III errors.

But make no mistake, the authors go after some sacred cows: politics (especially right-of-center politics), the health insurance industry, religion, science, and education. So, you may need to check your sensitivities at the door if you wish to read the book with an open mind.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Two Books and One is Terrific, November 28, 2010

By 

Laurence J. Stybel "Boardoptions.com" (Boston, MA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Dirty Rotten Strategies: How We Trick Ourselves and Others into Solving the Wrong Problems Precisely (High Reliability and Crisis Management) (Hardcover)

These are two powerhouse authors: Mitroff is one of the great figures of 20th Century organization behavior. He is Visiting Professor at the University of California at Berkeley. Abraham Silvers was Associate Professor of Statistics at the Baylor College of Medicine and now provides environmental statistical consulting services.
An interdisciplinary perspective pervades in this book.
If you purchase this book, be aware you are really buying two books. And the title gives away the problem as you will see in this review.
One book is superb.
The superb book is called HOW WE TRICK OURSELVES AND OTHERS INTO SOLVING THE WRONG PROBLEMS PRECISELY. The authors make the case that statistics only looks at Type 1 and Type 2 Errors. Type 1 Errors mean that the decision makers conclude that there is a meaningful difference when there is not. In other words, affirmatively getting the wrong answer. Type 2 Errors mean that decision makers conclude there is not a meaningful difference when there is. In other words, a failure to get it right.
Any leader will have at least an hour worth of Type 1 and Type 2 horror stories. We have all been victims. And we have all been perpetuators.
The authors then introduce a Type 3 Error: precisely solving the wrong problem.
This is a helpful perspective and a valuable one for Boards when they review strategy submitted by the CEO. Instead of asking, "Will it work?"Why not start with "are we looking at the right problem in the first place?"
Because Type 3 errors are part of the human condition, organizations can set up checks and balances to deal with it. For example, at the Board Level, meaningful Board of Director Self Evaluation does help the Board be aware of when its own group dynamics might cause it to logically and correctly solve the wrong problem.
We are all imperfect creatures and are prone to Type 3 Errors.
Ah, but then there is that second book.
It begins with the discussion of Type Four Errors: deliberate manipulation of data to cause leaders to solve the wrong problem precisely. They say it is due to "self-righteousness, overzealousness, malice, and narrow ideology." In other words, dirty rotten scoundrels contribute to DIRTY ROTTEN STRATEGIES.
This second book clearly is driven by the authors' own ideology and lack of historical perspective. They are out of their league. There is nothing new in Type 4 errors except the commonsense notion that people do manipulate information to suit their advantage. Is that news?
This second book has vitriol but lacks depth or practical solutions.
I want to emphasize that the first book is admirable. Too bad you can't buy one without getting the other.

##

Larry Stybel.
Boardoptions.com

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars So far Left Wing... he loses his audience and point, May 7, 2010

By 

Steven Vaughan (Napa, CA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Dirty Rotten Strategies: How We Trick Ourselves and Others into Solving the Wrong Problems Precisely (High Reliability and Crisis Management) (Hardcover)

This book starts off strong by pointing out how organizations and people make key errors in logic - he does a good job of defining what these are and how they affect each of us in daily decision making. Well done... but, it digresses rapidly as the author begins using lame extreme left-wing examples to badger right-wing'ers on how conservatives are fundamentally poor decision makers. The title of the book should be "conservatives are stupid and I'm going to show you why". He lost it his authoring and educational authority once he went into this "mode" and it's unfortunate because he could have produced a solid book on logic that could have been very helpful. Back to titles, the tag line "Dirty Rotten Strategies" really alludes to nothing on what the book is about other than blaming conservatives for all the ill will in the world and all their mean "rotten strategies" - thus the title. I had to think about it for a while.. why this title and it's clear after reading the book and the author's purpose.

Unfortunately this author is so blind to his own extreme left-wing conspiracy theories that he stumbles over his own logic and makes you wonder if he even knows how flawed he looks in his own writings. He would have had a decent book if he kept his examples to "neutral" business cases which would have been brilliant in clarify his main points - at least it would not have antagonized or alienated some of his readers. I really think this book was laid out to bash right-winger's otherwise read his concepts and filter out the "bad conservatives" message and you might get the points that make sense and can be helpful with anyone who has an honest desire to learn about errors in logic and how to become better people for it.