Breaking Failure: How to Break the Cycle of Business Failure and Underperformance Using Root Cause, Failure Mode and Effects Analysis, and an Early Warning System 1st Edition

The author has a different approach vs. the usual motivational “try harder, fail fast” rah-rah many business books tend to have. Unlike most books, it does not venture out on anecdotal observations or un-tested theories but sticks to proven techniques. I think it’s one of the most useful business books I've ever read. I was going to read it during an upcoming trip but finished it over the weekend after reading the intro.Breaking Failure is organized as follows:1. Failure & Stagnation: briefly discusses the high probability of negative outcomes and problem with trying to learn from other people’s failure vs your own2. FMEA: Esdel describes the FMEA technique used for decades by engineering to anticipate, identify and prioritize possible causes of failure and ways to prevent them.3. Root Cause Analysis: uses NASA techniques but provides business examples and nice clear flowcharts.4. The Early Warning System: demonstrates the importance of focusing on leading indicators-this had never occurred to me –was never taught that difference or causal forecasts in B-school (e.g. as the Fed does for economy) but adapted to a revenue generation context; whereby key leading indicators are identified, weights assigned and variance analysis used to provide managers with a simple but effective way to know early on when under performance and possibly failure are starting to appear.5. Blind Spots and Traps- a favorite section as I have witnessed these typical root causes of failure, from low level research to cherry picking to poor forecasting.6. The Preplanned Exit Strategy-Edsel makes a compelling case for the need to incorporate exit triggers and a preplanned exit strategy with detailed checklists. I would suggest some enhancements for an update as many Plan B elements could be detailed out.Many books you read and forget the next day --your lucky if any takeaways--usually you forget 95% of what you read for that matter. This is a 10 star because it is practical and usable on day one, nothing complicated –I love the flowcharts-I suggest you glance at the chapter flowcharts before reading a chapter-you get a lot more out of it. An important contribution to business. Kudos.

Breaking Failure provided a practical, step-by-step approach to identify and minimize failure to greatly improve operations. The examples and illustrations make it easy to practically apply the practices to the "real world."

I have used FMEA and Root Cause Analysis extensively on manufacturing processes, as a former process engineer. The extension of these same tools to business and marketing is an innovative and useful application. The book goes further, to include Early Warning Systems, Blind Spots and Traps, and a Pre-planned Exit Strategy. Almost any project launch would benefit from an early warning system to alert of trouble, with trigger points to modify the strategy as dynamics change, and a pre-planned exit strategy if needed. Throughout the book, real world examples highlight pitfalls to avoid when conducting market research, new product releases, etc. over a wide variety of businesses.The book teaches practical techniques to do just what the title says, break failure, thereby improving success. Of particular interest is the Blind Spots and Traps section. Many are pointed out with specific examples, so they can be applied to your own business situation with a new viewpoint. I found this section quite valuable and immediately applicable.Overall this book is engaging and easy to read, thoughtfully executed, well worth the effort.

This is a book about having confidence in business. One of may favorite expressions is "optimists see possibilities, realists (or pessimists) see consequences". Alex Edsel's construct provides for both in bringing a more holistic process to business planning. Through thoughtful, fast-paced writing and excellent supporting info-graphics, he establishes the need for two sides to planning: "what if we succeed?" (today's approach) and "how could we fail?" (this book).Overly optimistic projections in business planning are often the outcome of planning exercises. Alex suggests a healthy, disciplined effort to avoid failure should be as well. Interestingly, the book illustrates how a more careful examination of the downside helps foster a more confident upside. FMEA should be a mandatory practice in business today and this book should be mandatory reading for anyone involved in the planning process. I highly recommend it.

I read A LOT of business books and I rate them based on whether or not they they inspire new ideas and help me look at my own business from different angles. Edsel's book Breaking Failure absolutely does this. I found myself setting down the book every couple pages to write down notes about what I could apply to my own business. Usually if I get even ONE good idea from a book to take with me I think it's money well spent, with Alex's book I took away dozens. I'll revisit this book at least once a year to make sure I'm "Breaking Failure"..

A must-read for anyone who wants to succeed in any business, whether big or small. It's easy to read in clear language. I liked the real-life examples given in the book. No wonder so many large companies are in trouble. I got the Kindle for myself and a hardcover for my group.Now I see why my old company was doomed to fail by offering a ton of new products that eventually killed a core group of very profitable assets. The book will helps me focus on finding and stopping failures in my new company.

I feel lucky that I dug out this book from tons of books offered on amazon.com. I am a IT manager in a telecom company, day-to-day job is very technical, so that I became more and more keen on the tech side and sometimes ignored the business aspect. This book really goes deep into a lot of issues on business models and operations. Selective examples and insightful analysis inspired me and challenged me to always put the business before my codes.