Fail

Back in the 1960's after college I was lucky enough to land a job working for Mr. Stone out of his office at 5050 N. Broadway in Chicago. His PMA was an inspiration to me. I read his book over and over and applied his principles of Positive Mental Attitude. I believed and achieved my short and long range goals. Currently I am semi retired living the good life in Miami, Fl. and enjoying my days in the sun. I was sad to learn of his passing at the age of 100 recently. I owe a lot to Mr. Stone, Mr. Nightengale and Mr. Napolean Hill. His success system never fails if followed properly.

Everyone should own a copy of this book and apply its principles. Because if they did, this world would be a better place to live in and everyone would be happy with their lives.

If you are a salesman or trying to accomplish a difficult goal, this book is worth reading. W. Clement Stone, who later teamed up with Napoleon Hill to write Success Through a Positive Mental Attitude, is quite a success story. Starting from nothing, he was ultimately worth over 500 million dollars. His is a story of persistence and enthusiasm, and much of this book is autobiographical -- the story of how Stone did it -- and he goes into specific detail. It is an enjoyable read. I am the author of the book Self-Help Stuff That Works, and I am an expert on what works and what doesn't. This book will effectively motivate you and increase your determination to succeed. And that, my friend, makes a big difference!

and it is... at least in my department of systems analysts. While people everywhere are continuing to want to develop complex computer systems, even before the concepts have been worked out on paper, this is a refreshing sanity check that most systems are too complex, ill-designed, not focused, and not meeting the business objectives. This is a book that you can read several times, learning more each time. After studying this entertaining book, you will be able to forecast which new systems are doomed, even before they're finished. I reread the book each year to help me stay sensitive to poor systems ideas.

This is one of those books that should have become required reading, but possibly because it is too thought provoking, never became prominent. A great pity. It is as entertaining as Parkinson's works on his famous laws, and to me personally it has proven a good deal more valuable in practice. (Parkinson himself reviewed it and liked it!) It is a pity it is out of print. I hope that its follow-up (which I have not yet read) is as good.

Though jocularly written, this is really valuable, stimulating material. Its aphorisms may read like jokes, but they are all the more valuable for being quotable and easy to remember in context. Thinking back on all the godawful systems that I have seen, political, management, engineering and computer, there is not one that could not have been mitigated by intelligent anticipatory digestion of this book.

Unfortunately mentalities prominent among power-seekers, control freaks and grandiose designers, not to mention outright dishonesty among managers with conflicts of interest, cause considerable resistance to the ideas and attitudes that Gall promotes. If you are one such, I have nothing to say to you. If on the other hand you enjoy a bit of thoughtful and edifying entertainment, do your best to read this book.

There is no better book, with more startlingly accurate insights into one's current predicament.

It has the slight failing that it can't quite decide if it ought to be another _Stress Analysis of a Strapless Evening Gown_ or not, so there's a few paragraphs to skip here and there.

The rest is great.

I can quote from memory my favorite system axioms:

``Systems grow, and as they grow they encroach.''

``Systems attract systems-people.''

``Intra-system goals come first.''

``Reality is whatever is reported to the system.''

``Fail-safe systems fail by failing to fail safe.''

My favorite chapter is ``Administrative Encirclement,'' where each researcher is asked to write out his objectives.

The deepest insight, very subtle indeed, is Orwell's Inversion: the confusion of input and output:

``Example: A giant program is to Conquer Cancer is begun. At the end of five years, cancer has not been conquered, but one thousand research papers have been published. In addition, one million copies of a pamphlet entitled ``You and the War Against Cancer'' have been distributed. Those publications will absolutely be regarded as Output rather than Input.''

Nobody who knows the book will be surprised that the biggest killers of dogs today are humane societies.

People who follow the book will understand why the small early version _General Systemantics_ (1975), privately published, is an absolute gem; this version is pretty good, almost the same; and today's version (_...the underground text..._) is expanded beyond belief. The author has made it a system.

A most excellent compilation. Thought provoking and sobering material. Should be requisite reading for any Engineer, Project Manager, Operations Director, etc. Would especially recommend it as required reading for Engineering Students. The work often chronicles how various failures were first attributed to the most apparent superficial causes (i.e., the easy fix), but then only after several more failures were the root causes finally investigated, often at great cost both financially and in terms of human cost. Makes you wonder the next time you rush a project, cut some corners, eat away some margin, take some risks, etc...

Very useful tools... packs with knowledge definitely a 5-stars materia

A truly riviting book about the many failures of modern time. I couldn't put it down! This book fills in the details of many of the major disasters and accidents that you have read about in the news but provides the reader with the reasons that the technology failed. It's technically accurate without being overly complex. It explains not only what happened in each of the failures, but provides information on why it happened. I found the section on environmental accidents to be thought provoking and insightful. I would strongly recommend this book to anyone working in a technical field.

Many have comented on Anton LaVey's sharp perception of women in this book. It's not suprising when one knows much of it is no doubt based on his wife, Diane LaVey, High Priestess of the Church of Satan. She was a Compleat (Satanic) Witch before ever meeting Anton LaVey. She also had direct input by editing and helping to write the book.

Do you know how your wife/girlfriend trapped you? Anton LaVey knows. LaVey the all-time master of human nature reveals secrets every successful woman should know. More than a How To Catch A Man book. A lot more. If you thought The Satanic Bible was good; you will love this. This is the most devious and crafty thing I have ever had the good fortune to read.

I have tried four of the menus so far (each includes an appetizer, a main course, and a dessert) and each one has been *absolutely* delicious, and my dinner guests agreed. The recipes include twists on traditional British dishes such as Welsh rarebit, as well as international cuisine like Chinese roast mushrooms with stir-fry vegetables and noodles. The best part is the way the preparation steps are broken down for you by time -- for example, one day before, 15 minutes before, etc., so all three courses are ready when they need to be. Also handy are the miniature booklets containing the shopping and wine lists, to take with you as you do the marketing.

The caveats I would give about the recipes are: (1) many are not for the strictly cholesterol-conscious, as they are rather free-handed with the butter, cream, and cheese; (2) this is not a quick-cook book, (although there are quite a few recipies for fast snacks); and (3) unless you have some familiarity with British ingredients, you might have some trouble deciphering the ones that pop up every now and again. For example, I still haven't figured out what a "brandy snap basket" is.

The book also contains some cocktail and apertif recipes, and introductory matter on table settings and kitchen equipment.

I'm not a cook, but I do love a good pop-up book and this one is an excellent addition to my collection. Ron van der Meer is one of the best, if not THE best, paper engineers ever. The pop-ups are realistic and greatly enhance the enjoyment of the book, even if you don't read the text. My husband is the cook and he thought the recipes were tasty and fun to make -- though not with the pop-up kitchen gadets. :-) I personally recommend this book solely on it's paper engineering and the fact that Ron van der Meer created it.

Regardless what your environmental surroundings are "in the hood," you can succeed. Right Reggie?

Clark, writing about why many poor black kids succeed in school, gives us the clue to what works for all kids, with every parent, regardless of the race or socioeconomic status of the family. In fact, what Clark gives us is the knowing that it is not the structure of the family that determines school sucess but rather the kinds of experiences the family provides the child that nurture within that child a love for learning. Clark identifies a number of powerful and effective environmental factors that distinguish across all social strata low achieving from high achieving students. This book is for every person, but especially for teachers and school administrators who ever needed to know the "why", the "what for", and the "how" of strong, contagious, and empowering parental involvement in the "business" of the school. Read this book and learn from it. It truly speaks to the differnce that committed schools -- being peopled by caring educators -- can really make with ALL students. Jim Moore

I'm a reasonably successful professional, wife, and mother who has never had any problems with most of the things discussed in depth in this book (drug addiction, alcoholism, smoking, weight problems, obsessions, gambling, etc).

The reason I bought the book was for the discussions of self-management. They've been very thought provoking for me. I have trouble with setting goals and achieving them, prioritizing, and "self-handicapping", especially procrastination. Now I can think more clearly about how I get in my own way, and I can develop better, more effective strategies for coping.

The "implications for parenting" in the final chapter are also amazingly useful. Though pretty straightforward, they elegantly tie together so many common sense ideas about what good parenting is all about. Having standards. Monitoring. Enabling the child to develop self-control. Instilling the capacity to delay gratification. Challenging the child's ability to control his or her attention may not be as "common sense" as the others, but in context, I can see it's importance.

Many thanks to the authors for a thought-provoking and well-written analysis.

As a psychology student (senior level undergraduate) who has gone through some major issues with self-regulation, this book provides incredible insight to why people fail at self-regulatory behaviors through an in depth critical review of literature. Amazingly written by credible researchers Baumister and Tice. Should continue to be in print, and should be offered as a text book for classes.

Consider these statistics: In 2001, 257 public companies (with a total of $258 billion in assets) declared bankruptcy. In 2002, another 67 did so. Go back even further to the 43 companies which Peters and Waterman quite properly praised in In Search of Excellence (1982). Most no longer qualify according to the criteria by which they were selected...and several do not exist at all. Scary? You bet. Most of us in business can probably draw up a list of at least 15-20 reasons why companies fail. In this book, Ingebretsen focuses on what he calls "The Ten Deadly Sins." Committing any one of these "sins" could easily put a company at serious risk, if not completely out of business. Ignoring Customers (e.g. IBM), for example, or Failed Synergies (e.g. AOL and Time Warner). In fact, most organizations -- non-profit as well as for-profit, regardless of size or nature -- commit one or more of these "deadly sins" each day. Some violations are the equivalent of a felony, others of a misdemeanor. Presumably Ingebretsen agrees with me that individual mistakes can be damaging but not necessarily fatal; what all organizations must avoid are certain patterns of behavior which ensure failure. I recall a conversation I had years ago with the owner/CEO of a small company which had just filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy. The situation was hopeless. "All of the problems developed slowly and then suddenly."

Ingebretsen carefully organizes his material within 14 chapters which are arranged in a specific sequence, beginning with The Deadly Spiral and concluding with Future Challenges. The value of each chapter will be determined, of course, by the nature and extent of each reader's immediate needs and interest. However, Ingebretsen offers an eloquent and compelling explanation of why each of "The Ten Deadly Sins" is so dangerous after identifying (in Chapters 2 and 3) Early Warning Signs" and "More Early Warning Signs." Unlike vehicles, companies do not have gauges arranged conveniently in a cluster which immediately indicate when they are going too fast, overheating, running out of fuel, etc. In The Inferno, Dante saved the last ring in hell for those who, in a moral crisis, preserve their neutrality. I thought about that as I read Chapter 13 in which Ingebretsen "saves the worst corporate sin for last": arrogance. (For example, Enron, Polaroid, and Webvan.) In the final chapter, he shifts his attention to "probable causes for business failures in the years ahead, when all companies must run on Internet time."

For me, some of Ingebretsen's best thinking is provided in the Appendix: In Search of a Failure-Proof Strategy. However, the value of the Appendix to a great extent depends on how carefully the previous 14 chapters have been read. It is also important to keep in mind that competing on Internet time involves change which now occurs with unprecedented velocity as well as frequency. According to Ingebretsen, "the one constant, sadly, is that companies that either can't adapt or refuse to adapt will fail. And in an even more closely entwined global economy, there will be hundreds, if not thousands, of companies standing in line to take their place." According to one Hebrew aphorism, man plans and then God howls with laughter. No plan can accommodate all possibilities. No plan can guarantee success or failure. Ingebretsen does not offer a failure-proof strategy. Rather, he suggests how the search for one could (perhaps should) be conducted.

My own opinion about all this is that the planning process is not only important but imperative. Of even greater importance, the plan (once devised) must preclude violation of "The Ten Deadly Sins" while ensuring that the given organization has the resilience needed to respond rapidly and effectively to change. Ingebretsen agrees with Charles Darwin that natural selection results in the survival of the fittest...and the fittest are those who are most adaptable. It remains for those who read this brilliant book to make their own determination as to which portions of it can be of most immediate benefit. They are well-advised to keep in mind that decision-makers in their competitor companies will probably read Ingebretsen's book. Also, that Internet time waits for no one. In the final anaylsis, moreover, most fatal wounds are self-inflicted.

Reads like a "whodunit" of business failures. Ingebretsen offers his readers a polished presentation. His writing style is highly accessible. This is refreshing given the number of writers in management theory who choose to hide behind jargon laden academic descriptions, as opposed to clearly stating the evidence behind a company's success or demise. As someone interested in organizational analysis and who has the intention of starting up a business some day, I highly recommend this book. It is a quick and enjoyable read offering the means to avoid the pit falls of management failure.

When I worked at a quilt shop, I kept coming across this book. I wasn't impressed by the cover or the fabrics used in making the sample blocks(probably because I like bright colors). But I was drawn to the book and purchased it one night before I left work. I am so glad I did. I LOVE THIS BOOK. It is simple, precise and fast. I immediately made several quilts using this book. Nancy does a wonderful job of laying out exact directions. Each block has instructions for making one (as a sample). In the back, listed under the name of the block, are directions for an entire quilt. This truly is a No-Fail book. No extra junk, just down to business, get this cut out and lets get a quilt made. She has some neat ideas about combining the blocks for a unique quilt. My son-in-law loves the "Stars Adrift" I did for him in his alma mater colors. I love to recommend and give this book as a gift. I don't ever loan mine out, it is too valuable.

This book is not really about failure. It's about learning how to accept failure and continue to go forward. The book is easy to read and understand. The stories of the different personalities were very interesting. I especially enjoyed the Kim Basinger story. The most exciting concepts were the comparisons of the human mind to a computer and the practical approach to setting goals to achieve success. I love the three-point system and the Derem's Laws. Great adages to put on the bulletin board above the computer. Definitely a good read. Will make you want to take action in your life. It did me!