Meltdown

Why Our Systems Fail and What We Can Do About It

By: Chris Clearfield, András Tilcsik

Narrated by: Jonathan Todd Ross

Length: 7 hrs and 21 mins

Publisher's summary

Named a best book of 2018 by the Financial Times.

A groundbreaking take on how complexity causes failure in all kinds of modern systems - from social media to air travel - this practical and entertaining book reveals how we can prevent meltdowns in business and life.

"Endlessly fascinating, brimming with insight, and more fun than a book about failure has any right to be, Meltdown will transform how you think about the systems that govern our lives. This is a wonderful book." (Charles Duhigg, author of The Power of Habit and Smarter Faster Better)

A crash on the Washington, DC, metro system. An accidental overdose in a state-of-the-art hospital. An overcooked holiday meal. At first glance, these disasters seem to have little in common. But surprising new research shows that all these events - and the myriad failures that dominate headlines every day - share similar causes. By understanding what lies behind these failures, we can design better systems, make our teams more productive, and transform how we make decisions at work and at home.

Weaving together cutting-edge social science with riveting stories that take us from the front lines of the Volkswagen scandal to backstage at the Oscars, and from deep beneath the Gulf of Mexico to the top of Mount Everest, Chris Clearfield and András Tilcsik explain how the increasing complexity of our systems creates conditions ripe for failure and why our brains and teams can't keep up. They highlight the paradox of progress: Though modern systems have given us new capabilities, they've become vulnerable to surprising meltdowns - and even to corruption and misconduct.

But Meltdown isn't just about failure; it's about solutions - whether you're managing a team or the chaos of your family's morning routine. It reveals why ugly designs make us safer, how a five-minute exercise can prevent billion-dollar catastrophes, why teams with fewer experts are better at managing risk, and why diversity is one of our best safeguards against failure. The result is an eye-opening, empowering, and entirely original book - one that will change the way you see our complex world and your own place in it.

©2018 Chris Clearfield, András Tilcsik (P)2018 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

“Meltdown effectively conveys why addressing systemic failures is both difficult and essential.... Where Meltdown really hits its stride is in taking on the factors that promote groupthink and discourage dissent.” (The Wall Street Journal)

“Analysis of why things go wrong is always more exciting to read than praise for everything working out.... A compellingly written investigation of interesting case studies in calamity.” (Financial Times, Business Books of the Month)

“Thought-provoking.... Clearfield and Tilcsik colorfully explain why your job, like everyone else’s in today’s global economy, is becoming part of bigger networks of co-dependent systems, laden with unforeseeable risks and unimaginable outcomes.... The readers also offer some calming practical advice you can pack as a parachute. Read their pages and maybe, just maybe, you can avoid - or at least minimize - your own forthcoming descent into chaos.” (Forbes)

Translates complex concepts into useful information.

An important book. Ours is it time when system failure can lead to a disaster capable of destroying the planet. We need to understand how things can go so badly wrong in order to have a better chance of avoiding calamities. That said, many of the examples are of the absolutely every day variety, including how do avoid a Thanksgiving feast going off the rails. A great read and an excellent narrator.

Very useful!

Awesome book. Very engaging anecdotes combined with real academic research. Presents an important problem and concrete solutions.

good outlook for systems

I loved reading the different scenarios and how the author used them to make their points. #SelfDiscovery #Clever #FeelGood #Inspiring #tagsgiving #sweepstakes

Enlightening read

An excellent update to normal accidents. Did an effective job of using modern systems and showing how easily they can fail. Wish my ceo would read it

very good book on avoiding system failure and

very good book on avoiding system failure and being proactive if you have coupled systems.

Life isn't all burritos and strippers

A good read for those people who are interested in making better decisions, systems or futures.

Slow start, but the second act redeems, excellent!

The first half honestly felt a little slow but it set the stage for an excellent second act. This was exactly what I wanted, and will be worth a second listen sometime soon.

Great read!

This book provides core reasons surrounding both common and catastrophic system failures, some of the concepts being ones we seem to forget but make sense. I would recommend this book to everyone.

You work within complex systems: Read this book

Overcoming system failure in an increasingly complex world is a daunting topic. Don't hesitate to read this book that lays out how every one of us can contribute to building simple and successful systems to stay ahead of complex system meltdown. Favorite topics within this book include Pre-mortems and how Charles Parrow's Technology Classification Matix can help us.

Don't skip the epilogue. There is an excellent reference to how Yeats' The Second Comming is used inaccurately to describe why world news seems to be getting progressively worse.

One of the most useful and strangely comforting books I have read in the past few years.

thought provoking

good description of the framework through which we can analyze a system's tightness and complexity as well as a solid explanation of and examples for solutions.