Book Review
Will Your Next Mistake
be Fatal?: Avoiding the Chain of Mistakes That Can Destroy Your Organization,
by Robert E. Mittelstaedt, Jr.
by Helio Fred Garcia
Much crisis management requires pattern recognition, and this is especially the case in crisis prevention. In his new book, Will Your Next Mistake be Fatal?: Avoiding the Chain of Mistakes That Can Destroy Your Organization, seasoned business scholar Robert E. Mittelstaedt, Jr. describes mistake chains: predictable patterns of human inattention to things that are going wrong, and suggests ways to intervene to break the pattern before disaster strikes. We have recently reviewed the book in the peer-reviewed management journal Strategy & Leadership, where we strongly recommended that leaders understand the concept of mistake chains.