Managing the Unexpected

Successful organizations know that they must deal with unexpected events with flexibility, adaptability, and alertness. They learn from their mistakes, are less concerned with blame, and promote communication. In Managing the Unexpected, authors Karl E. Weick and Kathleen M. Sutcliffe provide a blueprint for managers looking to forge successful organizations, which they term high reliability organizations (HROs).

Every organization finds itself in crisis mode from time to time, and the authors point out that Managing the Unexpected has nothing to do with the art and science of avoiding crises—the unexpected has already occurred. How well an organization responds to crises has a lot to do with whether the organization survives, learns from its mistakes, and thrives.