Normal Accidents

This is a preview of a concept contained in The Personal MBA by Josh Kaufman, a book that will help you master the fundamentals of business, hone your business instincts, and save a fortune in tuition. The Personal MBA distills the most powerful principles of business and delivers them quickly and concisely. Order your copy now…

What is “Normal Accidents”?

“The problem is not that there are problems. The problem is expecting otherwise and thinking that having problems is a problem.” — Theodore Rubin, psychiatrist and columnist

Key Points:

• Normal Accidents is what we all know as “shit happens.”
• The more complex a system is, the higher the probability of something eventually going wrong.
• Overreacting to Normal Accidents is counterproductive: if you want the system to fail less, making it more complex doesn’t help.
• The best way to avoid Normal Accidents is to analyze breakdowns when they happen to learn about them and create contingency plans in case they happen again in the future.
• Normal Accidents are the reason you should keep your systems as loose as possibly (without affecting its performance). Accidents will happen, it’s just a matter of when.

Questions for Consideration:

• Do you have plans in place for when your system fails?
• Do you take time to learn when your system breaks down?
• What can you do to avoid overreacting when problems inevitably occur?

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