What You Can Learn From Things that Go Wrong : a Guidebook to the ROOT CAUSES of Failure [Paperback]

C. Robert Nelms (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 1996

None of us really know anything until we invade the areas of our lives in which we are ignorant and discover for ourselves the truth of our existance.

A 186 page "textbook", this book is a refreshing alternative to the typical, boring,"black - and - white style" textbooks written about Root Cause Failure Anlysis. Full of stories, clip art, humor and passion, this book is a practical cookbook, a moral lesson and a philosophical journey all-in one. In addition to explaining HOW to arrive at "root cause", the author also explains, through numerous examples, WHY he has developed the methods he uses. This most popular of Failsafe's publications is the basis for its four day course entitled "The Root Cause Experience."

Editorial Reviews

From the Author

I had an absolute BLAST writing this book. It's the first I ever wrote -- I've been told it's the most unusual "textbook" of its kind. I've also been told that I write like I talk -- and I tell lots of stories when I talk to make my points.

I self-published this book, following the advice of Dan Poynter (well known self-publishing guru). It was necessary to self-publish because of the uniqueness of the book! None of the stiff-collared uppidy-ups wanted to publish it for me!

You'll need to read the book to find out that I say things that some folks don't want to hear in ways they aren't used to hearing them. As I said, it was a blast -- I hope to do it again soon.

From the Inside Flap

Here is everything you will need to successfully identify the true ROOT CAUSES of things that go wrong in you place of business. You will learn a comprehensive, step-by-step discovery process. You will be exposed to the many barriers that impede progress in this area, with plenty of suggestions on how to overcome them. You will see how others have successfully addressed failure. But perhaps most imnportantly you will discover what Mr. Nelms discovered -- that there might be only ONE root cause of everything that goes wrong in our lives.

From Mr. Nelms: "There are certain sections of this book that cross into disciplines in which I have no formal training. You will wonder how a degreed Aerospace Engineer is qualified to speak about the human pscyhe, for example. In this respect, I am no more qualified than you to make observations on some of these subjects.

But then, that is one of the main points of this book, i.e., than none of us really knows anything until we invade the areas of our lives in which we are ignorant, and discover for ourselves the truth of our existance."

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 186 pages
• Publisher: Failsafe Network (January 1, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1886118108
• ISBN-13: 978-1886118102
• Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 8.3 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,771,196 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Curiosity will gain you knowledge, October 18, 2000

By 

Geoff Dougal (Kingsport, TN) - See all my reviews

This review is from: What You Can Learn From Things that Go Wrong : a Guidebook to the ROOT CAUSES of Failure (Paperback)

With enough innate curiosity about the world we live in, this is the only book an individual needs to be able to perform a root cause failure analysis. Chocked full of personal life experience anecdotes, the author eloquently guides us to how he arrives at the steps necessary to learn from things that go wrong. Leave your calculator in its case; this book reads like a novel and is not dry scientific stuff, but you will find yourself referring to it countless times as you proceed with your own failure analysis. On a deeper, subtler level, this is also the story about a man using his own "tools" to discover more about himself and the world around him.