Learn How to Make Better

Decisions
Why did Dick Fuld refuse to sell Lehman Brothers until it
was too late?

Why did so many bankers embrace subprime?

Why did so many smart people invest with Bernie Madoff?

Why was the federal government response to Hurricane
Katrina so slow?


Why are hundred-year-old newspapers going out of
business?

Why did leadership at Tokyo Electric Power respond so
tentatively to the nuclear reactor breakdowns?

Why Do Good Leaders Make Bad
Decisions?
Our Brains Are Wired for Action
Blink
People make quick decisions, and often it
works.


One Plan at a Time Emotional
Tagging
Captain Chesley Sullenberger
US Airways Flight 1549
US Airways Flight 1549
Four Red Flags in Decision-Making
Are your personal experiences misleading
you?
Is your personal self-interest clouding your
thinking?
Have you made a dangerous pre-judgment
that you are locked into?
Are inappropriate attachments pushing you
in the wrong direction?

9

10
FEMA
highlights
concerns: New
Orleans is
below sea level
6:00am
Brodericks staff
report: multiple
breaches,
downtown flooded
6:00pm
Broderick
issues report
to Chertoff:
levees not
breached
goes home
Friday Saturday Tuesday Monday
8:13am
Broderick
suggests 6am
report may
be
exaggerated
2:30pm
Broderick
confirms
levees
breached
Katrina hits:
First reports of
levee breaches
8.30am
Sunday
Start with
Vision
Add in
Strategy
Build
Strong and
Diverse
Teams
Learn How
to Make
Better
Decisions
Learn How
to Learn
from
Mistakes
Help Make
Other People
Better
A Recipe for Winning Leadership
Learn How to Learn From
Mistakes
The disaster was caused by organizational
and safety deficiencies at all levels of the BP
Corp. Warning signs of a possible disaster
were present for several years, but company
officials did not intervene effectively to
prevent it.

- Report of the US Chemical Safety and Hazard
Investigation Board

The disaster was caused by organizational
and safety deficiencies at all levels of the BP
Corp. Warning signs of a possible disaster
were present for several years, but company
officials did not intervene effectively to
prevent it.

- Report of the US Chemical Safety and Hazard
Investigation Board

Report issued March 20, 2007
The disaster was caused by organizational
and safety deficiencies at all levels of the BP
Corp. Warning signs of a possible disaster
were present for several years, but company
officials did not intervene effectively to
prevent it.

- Report of the US Chemical Safety and Hazard
Investigation Board

Report issued March 20, 2007
for
BPs Texas City Refinery Explosion in
2005
Why Smart Executives Fail


Executive
Mindset
Failures





Delusions of a
Dream Company





Organizational
Breakdowns






Leadership
Pathologies