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Shit Doesn't Just Happen
Shit Doesn't Just Happen: Titanic, Kegworth, Custer, Schoolhouse, Donner, Tulips, Apollo 13: The Gift of Failure
Saying “shit happens” indicates events are random, have no meaning and there is no accountability or responsibility. It indicates such events could just as easily happen again and there’s nothing we can do about them. Bull. This book is about catastrophes and how to avoid them, mitigate their effects and learn from them as seen from the perspective of the Masters of Chaos: United States Army Special Forces (Green Berets). Taking the attitude shit happens is negative and is fatal. Titanic: Systematic Failure Kegworth Plane Crash: The Danger of Deferring to Authority and Experts Little Big Horn: Leadership Failure New London Schoolhouse Explosion: Lack of Focus The Donner Party: Social Disintegration From Tulips to the Housing Bubble: Greed Overwhelms Reality Apollo 13: Success Snatched from the Jaws of Catastrophe The bottom line is we can predict and prevent most catastrophes because every one has at least one man made factor, of the 7 cascade events, involved. In other words, we have control over whether shit happens. But it means changing a complacent mindset, getting rid of delusional thinking, and viewing the world around us in a Green Beret way. Because shit doesn’t just happen.
- GenresNonfiction
172 pages, Paperback
First published September 9, 2014
22 people are currently reading
400 people want to read
About the author
Bob Mayer
212 books47.8k followersBesides my own interests, I read whatever my wife tells me to read-- she's a voracious reader and has wide-ranging tastes as my reviews show (she also always has the TV remote and she's always right about what to watch). I read a lot of nonfiction, mostly for research. Some of my favorite books are Lonesome Dove, Mystic River, LOTR, and an array of science fiction classics including the Foundation series. Our house is covered with books, although I finally broke down and started reading eBooks, strangely enough on my iPhone. Since I carry it pretty much everywhere, it means I always have an entire library of books with me.
I'm a West Point graduate, former Green Beret and a New York Times Bestselling Author. I've sold over five million books. My newest series begins with New York Minute, a thriller set in New York City in 1977.
I love using history and science in my books. My Area 51 series pretty much had me rewriting our entire history of civilization.
I'm a West Point graduate, former Green Beret and a New York Times Bestselling Author. I've sold over five million books. My newest series begins with New York Minute, a thriller set in New York City in 1977.
I love using history and science in my books. My Area 51 series pretty much had me rewriting our entire history of civilization.
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
June 8, 2015
Fast Sunday reading. Dug it. History with some very useful points about how not to get in deeper when you've started to make mistakes. I happen to like Bob Mayer's Green Beret/Special Forces point of view. Some people might find his suggestions and his take on disasters a little harsh, but I loved it. Just bought part 2. Hooked.
March 22, 2018
My biggest complaint is that this book has no heart. Like, it has no respect to the people it was talking about. It feels like the author is looking down on people for their stupidity. The way the book is written also distances the readers from the contents as it starts to sound like a technical paper (which are designed to be impersonal).
I also dislike the very rigid structure the author imposed on the events like this seven "cascading events" that was applied throughout. It severely limits what the book can talk about the given disasters and rob the events of its complexity and chaotic nature.
Overall I just dislike the delivery. It doesn't really do its content justice. I prefer reading Wikipedia over this.
I also dislike the very rigid structure the author imposed on the events like this seven "cascading events" that was applied throughout. It severely limits what the book can talk about the given disasters and rob the events of its complexity and chaotic nature.
Overall I just dislike the delivery. It doesn't really do its content justice. I prefer reading Wikipedia over this.
September 12, 2014
Awesome book. I'm not a huge non-fiction reader, but this one is definitely worth it. It dissects the various events leading up to 7 different catastrophes and shows how minor differences could have made an entirely different outcome. In other words, catastrophes don't just happen.
Bob has a gift for wording things in a way that keeps you turning pages whether it's fiction or non-fiction.
Bob has a gift for wording things in a way that keeps you turning pages whether it's fiction or non-fiction.
September 4, 2019
I don't mean to disturb you but there's a bomb ticking underneath your desk
So be honest how many times have you actually looked under your desk. Bob Mary helps you look under your desk and over your house and over your whole community in fact your country and World At Large. This book gives a concise View of a number of catastrophes from history, without getting into a windy and distracting description of unessential details. This book is amazingly readable and Bob Mayer does Justice to the dead that have paid in blood for these lessons to be learned by the rest of us.
long ago I had an uncle explained to me that every place on the country roads I grew up that had a flashing red and yellow stop sign flasher was actually a gravestone marker and that marked a dangerous place in the road where many people have died. Bob Mayer places these flashers in the right place through history covering topics like the Titanic, Little Bighorn, the investment crisis of 2006, and many other details. He brings each of these sections to conclusion with a beautiful summary of events and lessons that we can learn easily.
With this book Bob Mayer has entered the top 10 list of men I want to have a cup of coffee with and an hour to talk. Just a little hand I don't think an hour is going to be long enough. Get this book. You need this book.
So be honest how many times have you actually looked under your desk. Bob Mary helps you look under your desk and over your house and over your whole community in fact your country and World At Large. This book gives a concise View of a number of catastrophes from history, without getting into a windy and distracting description of unessential details. This book is amazingly readable and Bob Mayer does Justice to the dead that have paid in blood for these lessons to be learned by the rest of us.
long ago I had an uncle explained to me that every place on the country roads I grew up that had a flashing red and yellow stop sign flasher was actually a gravestone marker and that marked a dangerous place in the road where many people have died. Bob Mayer places these flashers in the right place through history covering topics like the Titanic, Little Bighorn, the investment crisis of 2006, and many other details. He brings each of these sections to conclusion with a beautiful summary of events and lessons that we can learn easily.
With this book Bob Mayer has entered the top 10 list of men I want to have a cup of coffee with and an hour to talk. Just a little hand I don't think an hour is going to be long enough. Get this book. You need this book.
November 30, 2017
This was an interesting read. I enjoy reading about disasters and the chain of events that occur in order for them to happen. I'd not heard of the New London school disaster before, but I grew up in Australia so that may have something to do with it. I thought the methods of analysis Bob Mayer uses from his Special Forces training and experience were well adapted to discussing the causes of unfortunate events. The book is clearly written, and each event is summarised and then broken down into its causative factors, at least one of which is always human error, or ego (in the case of Custer). A very insightful read. I have also bought the second in the series and am looking forward to reading it next.
February 17, 2019
Succinct, Readable, and RIGHT
This is one of the best written books I have ever come across.
Mayer analyzes seven major disasters, one of which was salvaged with loss of equipment but not of life. In each case, at least seven steps led to the disaster, and the disaster could have been prevented if any one of the errors had not been made.
Finally, Mayer explains how to prevent such disasters by taking into account everything that could go wrong, and examining the situation in detail, including the details most people never think of.
I recommend this book in the strongest possible terms to every adult or near adult, whether your jurisdiction is one room or an entire country.
This is one of the best written books I have ever come across.
Mayer analyzes seven major disasters, one of which was salvaged with loss of equipment but not of life. In each case, at least seven steps led to the disaster, and the disaster could have been prevented if any one of the errors had not been made.
Finally, Mayer explains how to prevent such disasters by taking into account everything that could go wrong, and examining the situation in detail, including the details most people never think of.
I recommend this book in the strongest possible terms to every adult or near adult, whether your jurisdiction is one room or an entire country.
August 23, 2020
Good advice to avoid catastrophes
A good read on avoiding catastrophic events. The author take you step by step through each event and shows how one little, seemingly meaningless decision can have major consequences as the problem cascade continues. A thoughtful analysis for every leader.
A good read on avoiding catastrophic events. The author take you step by step through each event and shows how one little, seemingly meaningless decision can have major consequences as the problem cascade continues. A thoughtful analysis for every leader.
October 18, 2018
Really good stuff. Things every one should consider.
November 18, 2018
Executive tool
Worth reading multiple times to absorb the many management and leadership tools. Should be a recommended read for all MBA. Students.
Worth reading multiple times to absorb the many management and leadership tools. Should be a recommended read for all MBA. Students.
November 26, 2021
I received an ARC copy, so who knows—maybe some of this has been fixed. At least they fixed the "Sh*t" in the title.
This book needed a very heavy-handed editor first. And I don't mean the kind of editor who censors the word "shit" to sh!t—was this written by a twelve year old? I mean the kind of editor who will tell you when you haven't supported your argument or need to cut down on the lists. And fix the occasional typo.
The premise of the book—military trained disaster expert commenting on various historical disasters—is a good one. I wouldn't think poorly of someone for enjoying it. But unfortunately, it's written and argued like a third grade persuasive essay. He actually ends his introduction by repeating what is clearly his 'thesis statement,' and follows it up with "That is the purpose of this book."
Mayer is heavy on number lists (humans love threes and sevens!) Three reasons to read this book, three reasons to listen to me, three benefits of catastrophe thinking. Rule of 7, seven catastrophes. He insists that it's always seven failures that lead to catastrophe—never less!—and fluffs most of his catastrophes to round out the number.
He's also heavy on code words. Every single facet of an idea has its own code word, defined at the end of the chapter (the intro includes, but is not limited to: "No-do-over," "Sh!t Happens," "Cascade Event," "Final Event," "Delusion Event," "The Gift of Failure"). One code word is confusingly similar to a common cognitive bias ("Halo effect") but used to mean something completely different—and he was a psychology major!
On top of this, he takes a lot of things on faith simply because they make sense to him. He points out that some experts think that binoculars wouldn't have made a difference in the Titanic's fate—but dismisses it completely with zero evidence or analysis. Just "I'll go with the guy who was there." Of course you will! If the binoculars wouldn't have made a difference, that removes one of your seven failures and invalidates your Rule of 7.
There were all sorts of other things that drove me up a wall. Mayer counts Custer's failed extermination of Native Americans at Little Big Horn a "catastrophe." He doesn't understand what a Pyrrhic victory is—I think he confused it with the word "futile." In places you can feel him bending reality to fit his own understanding of the world, like his tangent into how Custer doesn't really count as a real West Point grad (since that would upset his view of military training).
This book needed a very heavy-handed editor first. And I don't mean the kind of editor who censors the word "shit" to sh!t—was this written by a twelve year old? I mean the kind of editor who will tell you when you haven't supported your argument or need to cut down on the lists. And fix the occasional typo.
The premise of the book—military trained disaster expert commenting on various historical disasters—is a good one. I wouldn't think poorly of someone for enjoying it. But unfortunately, it's written and argued like a third grade persuasive essay. He actually ends his introduction by repeating what is clearly his 'thesis statement,' and follows it up with "That is the purpose of this book."
Mayer is heavy on number lists (humans love threes and sevens!) Three reasons to read this book, three reasons to listen to me, three benefits of catastrophe thinking. Rule of 7, seven catastrophes. He insists that it's always seven failures that lead to catastrophe—never less!—and fluffs most of his catastrophes to round out the number.
He's also heavy on code words. Every single facet of an idea has its own code word, defined at the end of the chapter (the intro includes, but is not limited to: "No-do-over," "Sh!t Happens," "Cascade Event," "Final Event," "Delusion Event," "The Gift of Failure"). One code word is confusingly similar to a common cognitive bias ("Halo effect") but used to mean something completely different—and he was a psychology major!
On top of this, he takes a lot of things on faith simply because they make sense to him. He points out that some experts think that binoculars wouldn't have made a difference in the Titanic's fate—but dismisses it completely with zero evidence or analysis. Just "I'll go with the guy who was there." Of course you will! If the binoculars wouldn't have made a difference, that removes one of your seven failures and invalidates your Rule of 7.
There were all sorts of other things that drove me up a wall. Mayer counts Custer's failed extermination of Native Americans at Little Big Horn a "catastrophe." He doesn't understand what a Pyrrhic victory is—I think he confused it with the word "futile." In places you can feel him bending reality to fit his own understanding of the world, like his tangent into how Custer doesn't really count as a real West Point grad (since that would upset his view of military training).
January 9, 2018
I received this book as an ARC through a giveaway on Goodreads.
I honestly wasn't too impressed with this overall. While it did have some good points there were also a couple things that really bothered me a bit. Like the fact that if you're going to use an acronym for something or abbreviate something then you need to give what it stands for BEFORE using the abbreviation or acronym... not after. Also, while it is pointed out that the italicized sections can be skipped over, it doesn't change the fact that they are very distracting when they are all of a sudden thrown into the middle of a page in the middle of what's actually important and meant to be read. Throwing them in the middle like that rather than at the end of the chapter, I feel, disrupts the flow of the rest of the chapter. Small things, yes, but still a bit irritating for some. Another reason I found it so hard to get through this is more personal and has a lot to do with the fact that I'm simply not a huge fan of non-fiction unless it is REALLY well written... and unfortunately I don't feel like this book was REALLY well written... that's not so say it was poorly written... it simply wasn't written well enough to hold my attention. Another thing that bothered me was that in various places throughout the book the author will finish a sentence saying "more about this in my book 'insert title here.'" If an author is going to promote their other books in a their book then, I feel, it should be done at the end of the book not in the middle of a chapter. I'm also still not convinced that "shit doesn't just happen," but that may have a lot to do with the fact that I have never, until I read this book, heard the phrase "shit happens," in relation to a catastrophe and rather only ever in reference to little things like dropping a piece of toast on the floor after you've put jelly on it.
I honestly wasn't too impressed with this overall. While it did have some good points there were also a couple things that really bothered me a bit. Like the fact that if you're going to use an acronym for something or abbreviate something then you need to give what it stands for BEFORE using the abbreviation or acronym... not after. Also, while it is pointed out that the italicized sections can be skipped over, it doesn't change the fact that they are very distracting when they are all of a sudden thrown into the middle of a page in the middle of what's actually important and meant to be read. Throwing them in the middle like that rather than at the end of the chapter, I feel, disrupts the flow of the rest of the chapter. Small things, yes, but still a bit irritating for some. Another reason I found it so hard to get through this is more personal and has a lot to do with the fact that I'm simply not a huge fan of non-fiction unless it is REALLY well written... and unfortunately I don't feel like this book was REALLY well written... that's not so say it was poorly written... it simply wasn't written well enough to hold my attention. Another thing that bothered me was that in various places throughout the book the author will finish a sentence saying "more about this in my book 'insert title here.'" If an author is going to promote their other books in a their book then, I feel, it should be done at the end of the book not in the middle of a chapter. I'm also still not convinced that "shit doesn't just happen," but that may have a lot to do with the fact that I have never, until I read this book, heard the phrase "shit happens," in relation to a catastrophe and rather only ever in reference to little things like dropping a piece of toast on the floor after you've put jelly on it.
April 12, 2015
You can read this book on a few levels. It's an interesting and entertaining read; you can go through it for enjoyment, with a bowl of popcorn, and it'll be satisfying on that level. It's a good analysis of some historical events, looking at what happened and why, if you're into history. Some of the events I'd heard of before, and some not, so there was both the pleasure of familiarity and the interest of novelty. And it's a good textbook on how and why large-scale problems happen, and how they can be prevented, including some common fallacies in our thinking/planning/organization that makes these large-scale disasters more likely to happen.
My one complaint is that this is a very thin book for a trade paperback. And it has a sequel, or a part two, or whatever you want to call it. If the sequel is just as thin, they they should've been a single volume, making them not only easier to read as a related whole, aside from the fact that one thicker book would be (or certainly could be) a lot cheaper than two thin ones. Over on the fiction side, some publishers are starting to break up novels and sell them as "serials" -- basically chunks of novel sold separately -- for no reason that comes to mind except that they can make more money on the whole work that way. Maybe it's made me paranoid, but that's what this looks like.
Still, I enjoyed the read and will probably get the second book eventually. I'm kind of hoping there aren't any more after that, though.
My one complaint is that this is a very thin book for a trade paperback. And it has a sequel, or a part two, or whatever you want to call it. If the sequel is just as thin, they they should've been a single volume, making them not only easier to read as a related whole, aside from the fact that one thicker book would be (or certainly could be) a lot cheaper than two thin ones. Over on the fiction side, some publishers are starting to break up novels and sell them as "serials" -- basically chunks of novel sold separately -- for no reason that comes to mind except that they can make more money on the whole work that way. Maybe it's made me paranoid, but that's what this looks like.
Still, I enjoyed the read and will probably get the second book eventually. I'm kind of hoping there aren't any more after that, though.
October 1, 2016
Hindsight is 20/20. It is easy to see how little events "cascaded" to disaster well after the problem, but seeing the events for what they are in the moment is virtually impossible. Some of the cascade events were decades before the disaster and involved completely different people. The point should really be that people are bad at their jobs.
Applying these lessons to the corporate world fell apart when he started discussing strictly military ideas in his conclusion section. At the end of the day, most "disasters" people face will not be life and death but a matter of money and poor management at work. As he states early in his book, mentioning these things will get you in trouble at work.
I feel he has some answers here, but he was too busy trying to get me to buy his other books or the next in this series. This was an interesting read and gave me some ideas to think about, I'm just not sure what to do with it.
Applying these lessons to the corporate world fell apart when he started discussing strictly military ideas in his conclusion section. At the end of the day, most "disasters" people face will not be life and death but a matter of money and poor management at work. As he states early in his book, mentioning these things will get you in trouble at work.
I feel he has some answers here, but he was too busy trying to get me to buy his other books or the next in this series. This was an interesting read and gave me some ideas to think about, I'm just not sure what to do with it.
November 8, 2014
An easy read that's one part entertaining and one part informative. Most sections in the book discuss a commonly-known catastrophe and the events leading up to each (I admit that I was not familiar with one of these catastrophes). The author also includes steps to avoid many disasters, calling on his special ops experiences. Short and easy to follow, consider this work an introduction to famous catastrophes and a how-to for disaster preparation.
LT Early Reviewers
LT Early Reviewers
November 1, 2014
Very interesting and posed a lot of things to consider. Plus, it gave some unique insights into historical catastrophes. I'll definitely be looking for the next book in this series.
February 15, 2015
I really enjoyed this book. The history and analysis are interesting and to the point.
July 28, 2016
Very good summary and analysis of disaster events to include showing contributing factors and root causes. a must read for safety professionals, as well as quality managers.
June 9, 2018
Short but fascinating
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews