Review: The Logic of Failure

 The Logic of Failure by Dietrich Dorner

I originally first came across this book as an assigned reading in Project Management class.  That was some time ago but the book ages well.  In fact my edition was published in 1997 so it was out for a few years before it hit my reading list.

 The title implies content that is a bit different then what you'll find inside.  To be more meaningful perhaps "Why Planning Doesn't Work" or "How to avoid bad decision making" would do better instead.  I've read this book a few times already but I still manage to get something new out of it everytime.  

This time it was the notion of "Balistic" Management techniques.  Balistic motion is categorized by the quadratic equation and the graph of a prabola.  Or from Physics class the word problems that involve setting up your cannon to a particular angle to get the arc of your cannonball to look just right.  With a little creativity you can see how the cannon really means your strategy for solving the problem/crisis at hand.  You need to set a plan, take action on it and make changes as necessary.  Sounds simple but often not done in practice.  For instance, the OPAC can only do what the paper catalogue does.  In that case how do you account for VuFind?