Managing the Unexpected: Resilient Performance in an Age of Uncertainty Kindle Edition

by
Karl E. Weick (Author)
› Visit Amazon's Karl E. Weick Page
Find all the books, read about the author, and more.
See search results for this author
Are you an author? Learn about Author Central
Karl E. Weick (Author), Kathleen M. Sutcliffe (Author)
4.4 out of 5 stars 34 customer reviews
ISBN-13: 978-0787996499
ISBN-10: 0787996491
Why is ISBN important?
ISBN
This bar-code number lets you verify that you're getting exactly the right version or edition of a book. The 13-digit and 10-digit formats both work.
Scan an ISBN with your phone
Use the Amazon App to scan ISBNs and compare prices.
Kindle App Ad
Facebook Twitter Pinterest <Embed>
We're sorry, the Kindle Edition of this title is not currently available for purchase
Price
New from Used from
Hardcover
"Please retry"
—
$38.51 $27.62
Audible, Unabridged
"Please retry"
$0.00
Free with your Audible trial
MP3 CD, Audiobook, MP3 Audio, Unabridged
"Please retry"
$9.99
$4.67 $11.09
Limted-time offer: $1 for 2 months
The Wall Street Journal Digital Membership. Coverage you can get behind. Learn more
click to open popover

Enter your mobile number or email address below and we'll send you a link to download the free Kindle App. Then you can start reading Kindle books on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.

  • Apple
  • Android
  • Windows Phone
  • Android

To get the free app, enter your mobile phone number.
Download to your computer
Kindle Cloud Reader

Product Details

  • File Size: 1234 KB
  • Print Length: 213 pages
  • Publisher: Jossey-Bass; 2 edition (January 6, 2011)
  • Publication Date: January 6, 2011
  • Language: English
  • ASIN: B004IK9U4U
  • Text-to-Speech: Enabled
  • X-Ray:
  • Word Wise: Enabled
  • Lending: Not Enabled
  • Enhanced Typesetting: Enabled
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #551,417 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)

    •  Would you like to give feedback on images or tell us about a lower price?

Customer Reviews

Top Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 starsMindfulness: Foundation for a Learning Organization
By Dennis DeWilde on December 11, 2007
Format: Hardcover
This second edition - an update of the 2001 book that introduced us to the 'mindful' organization - is a timely and well-done re-write that furthers the authors' contention that mindfulness is at the core of a learning organization. By substituting a failed preemptive burn incident, (the 2000 Cerro Grande wildland fire that caused $1 billion of damage to Los Alamos), for the 1st edition's Union Pacific/Southern Pacific merger debacle as the central example of their 5 principles of mindfulness, the reader is able to feel the flames of the unexpected leap beyond the control lines of the HRO (High Reliability Organizations) environment. This wind-fed fire metaphor gives life to the uncontrollable nature of today's business environment and every business's need for a mindful response to the unexpected. Managing only for the expected will not provide containment when the winds of change blow into your marketplace. From the authors' perspective, the appropriate response is the creation of an infrastructure to provide the 5 principles of mindfulness.

1. Preoccupation with failure - treating any failure (often small ones) as a symptom that something is wrong with the system, a mindful organization is continually updating its understanding.
2. Reluctance to simplify interpretations - ensuring a more complete and nuanced picture, simplifying less and seeing more.
3. Sensitivity to operations - paying attention to relationships at the front line, where the work gets done.
4. Commitment to resilience - maintaining a deep knowledge of the technology, the system, one's coworkers, and one's self as avenues for improvising and keeping the system functioning.
5.Read more ›
Comment 40 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Sending feedback...
Thank you for your feedback.
Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again
Report abuse
4.0 out of 5 starsInteresting study of highly resilient companies
By Rolf Dobelli HALL OF FAMETOP 1000 REVIEWER on September 4, 2009
Format: Hardcover
Karl E. Weick and Kathleen M. Sutcliffe give readers something new and useful in this book. Countless manuals explain how to plan for crises and make it sound like everything will go smoothly if you just plan correctly. Weick and Sutcliffe know better. Planning, they say, may even stand in the way of smooth processes or be the cause of failure. They base this discussion on their studies of "high reliability organizations" (HROs), like fire fighting units and aircraft carrier crews, organizations where the unexpected is common, small events make a difference, failure is a strong possibility and lives are on the line. From those examples, they deduce principles for planning, preparation and action that will apply to any company facing change. The book is not perfect - the authors overuse quotations and rely on buzzwords that don't add much - but it addresses often-neglected aspects of management. getAbstract recommends it to anyone who is trying to make an organization more reliable and resilient amid change.
Comment 10 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Sending feedback...
Thank you for your feedback.
Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again
Report abuse
5.0 out of 5 starsMuch improved over 1st edition
By Bob F, measurement guy on July 13, 2009
Format: Hardcover Verified Purchase
I read the 1st edition. I felt after reading it that the authors had the right idea and the first half of the book was very good. The second half, where they describe the audit left me cold.

I'm interested in questions about new product development. Resilience is an important asset in product development work. Everything in the environment around you changes while you work, plus the designers are constantly learning and discovering things as well. As a project manager, you discover your plan is not working the way you expected. How do you deal with this pace of change?

The 2nd edition of the book reaches further past the safety conscious concerns of the first so it is easier for readers to see how the work applies to resilience and product assurance questions in other work.

I was pleased to see the changes and would strongly recommend the 2nd edition over the 1st.
Comment 6 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Sending feedback...
Thank you for your feedback.
Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again
Report abuse
2.0 out of 5 starsWritten by perception without data
By 6k7c226 on March 4, 2012
Format: Hardcover
I put two stars because I generally agree with what this book says; be prepared for unexpected. However, I was disappointed by the contents.
First of all, the auther picked "aircraft carrier operations' as an example of High Reliablity Organization. I checked US Navy aircraft carrier operation's non-combat injury rate in Navy's website and it was not low. Their injury rate/200,000 hours is 7-8, which is the median of the all indurstries.(Top quartile is around 3 according to US DOL website). As author's says, it is very complex operations which requires highly integrated team work, which I agree and - admire it - , but it is the nature of job and I do not see any part which can be leveraged to my manufacutring indutry's work.
Secondly, the author did not tell how to find any critical signals. He says "be mindful to small signals", but does not show how. There are so many minor signals in a single day - most of them are nuisance but a few are critical - you need to find out which one is the real important one before throwing a dice. Once things happened, you can easily tell which was the "critical" small signal. That's second guess and this is what this book did.
In any project, there is a flood of information - good, bad, unknown as well as input from many customers, collegues, supervisors etc, you got to do screening with your inner criteria and make a decision under uncernity. That criteria - why you think this is imporatnt and that is not - is the key to review before and after the project. Saying "he failed the project because he did not pay attention to xxx(small signal)" is the same with saying nothing.
I think - the real important thing is to build a memory of failure in organization by any means and keep learning to refine those decision making criteria - what to check, who to be involved, etc. Then review them periodically, like which premises succeed and which one did not. This knowledge will be a real value to the organization.
4 Comments 15 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Sending feedback...
Thank you for your feedback.
Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again
Report abuse

Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 starsFive Stars

Great!

Published 4 months ago by Critique 4 Life
4.0 out of 5 starsFour Stars

Good book, ni e introduction to high relativity organizations

Published 9 months ago by Francisco A. Ybarra Navarro
3.0 out of 5 starsGood concept, and I quite liked the example at ...

Good concept, and I quite liked the example at the front of the book, but I felt like the author did not consistently link back to it, or provide enough new examples.

Published 10 months ago by Orvil
5.0 out of 5 starsFive Stars

This book was recommended by a colleague and was all I expected and more.

Published 14 months ago by Cathy Harris
5.0 out of 5 starsFive Stars

Clear and thoughtful. Many valuable insights.

Published 17 months ago by Robert Doyle
4.0 out of 5 starsFour Stars

Some chapters are better than others. Overall the book is good.

Published 18 months ago by Maria
5.0 out of 5 starsFive Stars

book was delivered as promised - met expectations

Published 19 months ago by Lordhead
5.0 out of 5 starsFive Stars

Good

Published 23 months ago by Lorraine Crespin
5.0 out of 5 starsit widens your mindful insight

The book chapters have been arranged in away enables you to understand well the ideas behind the High Reliability Organization (HRO) and it's principles. Read more

Published on August 28, 2014 by Khalid Alhaqqan
5.0 out of 5 starsPowerful Book

An excellent book for anyone trying to improve the resiliency of their systems, processes, and/or organization. Well-written and easy to understand.

Published on August 1, 2014 by R. McClanahan

There's a problem loading this menu right now.

Learn more about Amazon Prime.

Look for Similar Items by Category

 
Feedback
If you need help or have a question for Customer Service, contact us.
Would you like to report poor quality or formatting in this book? Click here
Would you like to report this content as inappropriate? Click here
Do you believe that this item violates a copyright? Click here