Why Most Things Fail

by Paul Ormerod

Overview

From the best-selling author of The Death of Economics and Butterfly Economics, a ground-breaking look at a truth all too seldom acknowledged: most commercial and public policy ventures will not succeed.
Paul Ormerod draws upon recent advances in biology to help us understand the surprising consequences of the Iron Law of Failure. And he shows what strategies corporations, businesses and governments will need to adopt to stand a chance of prospering in a world where only one thing is certain.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780571266142
Publisher:	Faber and Faber
Publication date:	12/22/2010
Sold by:	Bookwire
Format:	eBook
Pages:	374
File size:	1 MB
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Paul Ormerod
Paul Ormerod is the author of The Death of Economics, Butterfly Economics and Why Most Things Fail. He studied economics at Cambridge and his career has spanned the academic and practical business worlds, including working at the Economist and as a director of the Henley Centre for Forecasting. He is a Fellow of the British Academy of Social Science and has been awarded a DSchonoris causafor his contribution to economics by the University of Durham.

Table of Contents

Preface to the Paperback Edition.

Preface to the First Edition.

Introduction.

1  The Edwardian Explosion.

2  A Formula for Failure.

3  Up a Bit, Then Down a Bit.

4  Making Sense of Segregation.

5  Playing by the Rules.

6  A Game of Chess.

7  "The Best-Laid Schemes . . . ."

8  Doves and Hawks.

9  Patterns in the Dark.

10  The Powers that Be.

11  Take Your Pick?

12  Resolving the Dilemma.

13  Why Things Fail.

14  What Is to Be Done?

Suggestions for Further Reading.

Index.