Titanic: Systematic Failure
“There is no danger that Titanic will sink. The boat is unsinkable and nothing but inconvenience will be suffered by the passengers.” Phillip Franklin, White Star Line vice-president, 1912 Titanic is a...
View ArticleYou Catastrophe Plan for three reasons
You need a catastrophe plan for three reasons: To avoid the catastrophe. Since at least one of the six cascade events is human error, if we plan and prepare adequately, we can delete the human error...
View ArticleThe Donner Party: Social Disintegration
“I wish I could cry, but I cannot. If I could forget the tragedy, perhaps I would know how to cry again.” Mary Graves. Survivor, the ‘Donner Party’ When people hear the ‘Donner Party’, the first thing...
View ArticleHow To Avoid Catastrophe? 1: Have a Preparation Mindset; 2: Focus
(excerpt from It Doesn’t Just Happen: The Gift of Failure) ONE Have A Preparation Mindset The key is to accept that shit doesn’t just happen. As you now know, most catastrophes are the result of...
View ArticleSpecial Operations function in catastrophe
Catastrophe planning in the civilian world is primarily the province of engineers and management. The problem with that is engineers and management are trained for, plan for, and work in a controlled...
View ArticlePilots Shut Down Wrong Engine– Plane Crashes. Kegworth
On 8 January 1989, a Boeing 737-400 crashed just short of the runway near Kegworth in the UK. 47 people were killed and 74 received serious injuries out of a complement of 126 on board. Shortly after...
View ArticleThe Worst School Catastrophe in US History
New London Schoolhouse Explosion: Lack of Focus “I did nothing in my studies nor in my life to prepare me for a story of the magnitude of that New London tragedy, nor has any story since that awful day...
View ArticleHow To Prevent a Catastrophe? 3: Conduct Area Studies.
(excerpt from It Doesn’t Just Happen: The Gift of Failure) THREE Conduct Area Studies In Special Forces, prior to deploying to an Area of Operations, we conducted an Area Study of that location. You...
View ArticleForrest Gump Was Wrong
Actually, he only half said it. While running across the country he stepped some shit and the guy running next to him pointed it out and Gump said: It Happens. So I’ve got my new series: It Doesn’t...
View ArticleFREE this week: ALIVE! Perseverance triumphs over Tragedy
We’ve made one of our Anatomy of Catastrophe shorts free for the next five days: Alive! Perseverance triumphs over tragedy. The 15th short, Air France Flight 447: Human-Machine Interface Failure will...
View Article47 Year ago today: The catastrophe of Apollo 1 helped save the astronauts on...
Cascade Five (excerpted from Apollo 13: Successful Failure FREE TODAY Three astronauts died on 27 January 1967 during a test on the launch pad. Fire roared through the Apollo 1 cabin, killing Gus...
View ArticleDonner Party Rescued 168 years ago today!
The Donner Party: Leadership Failure “I wish I could cry, but I cannot. If I could forget the tragedy, perhaps I would know how to cry again.” Mary Graves. Survivor, the ‘Donner Party’ The “First...
View Article87 Years Ago Today: One of the Worst Civil Engineering Disasters of the Century
From: Mulholland & The St. Francis Dam: Engineering Failure Quote: During the Los Angeles Coroner’s Inquest, William Mulholland said, “this inquest is a very painful for me to have to attend but...
View Article78 Years Ago Today: The Worst School Disaster in US History
“I did nothing in my studies nor in my life to prepare me for a story of the magnitude of that New London tragedy, nor has any story since that awful day equaled it.” Walter Cronkite Propane doesn’t...
View Article45 Years Ago Today: Apollo 13 Successfully Returned
Apollo 13: Successful Failure “From this day forward, Flight Control will be known by two words: ‘Tough’ and ‘Competent.’ Tough means we are forever accountable for what we do or what we fail to do....
View ArticleBattle Where The Girl Saved Her Brother (aka Battle of the Rosebud)
On this day in 1876, General Crook’s column engaged in battle with the Lakota and Northern Cheyenne in the Montana Territory. A long, fierce engagement, it ended with the withdrawal of the Native...
View ArticleSkills that are getting lost. World War III Looming?
My wife’s first words to me this morning were: Looks like World War III is getting ready to happen. And you wonder why we write books like Shit Doesn’t Just Happen: The Gift of Failure. She was...
View Article74 Years Ago Today: Pearl Harbor
I’ve written two books about Pearl Harbor: one nonfiction book and one novel. Pearl Harbor: The Danger of Misconception “Should hostilities once break out between Japan and the United States, it would...
View ArticleHow To Prevent a Catastrophe? 3: Conduct Area Studies.
(excerpt from It Doesn’t Just Happen: The Gift of Failure) THREE Conduct Area Studies In Special Forces, prior to deploying to an Area of Operations, we conducted an Area Study of that location. You...
View ArticleForrest Gump Was Wrong
Actually, he only half said it. While running across the country he stepped some shit and the guy running next to him pointed it out and Gump said: It Happens. So I’ve got my new series: It Doesn’t...
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