Why Most Things Fail - Hardcover

Ormerod, Paul

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0571220126 ISBN 13: 9780571220120

Publisher: Faber and Faber, 2005

Synopsis

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. WorldCom, Enron, Yamaichi, Equitable Life, Andersen, Parmalat, Shell . . . Around the world, corporate scandal - and full-scale collapse - has caught the headlines in a spectacular way, and investors avidly search for scapegoats. We all express surprise at such catastrophes - yet extinction is an inherent fact of life, and failure comes calling at the door of companies both gigantic and small. Over 17,000 companies will go bust this year in the UK alone. But is this a bad thing? And if so why does the US, with its hugely dynamic economy, see more than 10 per cent of companies disappear each year? In his inimitable fashion, 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.

About this title

About the Author

Paul Ormerod was for several years Head of the Economic Assessment Unit at The Economist. He was Director of Economics at the Henley Centre for Forecasting from 1982 to 1992, and has been a visiting Professor of Economics at London and Manchester. He has published widely in academic journals, lectures around the world, and is currently a director of Volterra Consulting. He is the author of Butterfly Economics and The Death of Economics.

From the Inside Flap

WorldCom, Enron, Yamaichi, Equitable Life, Andersen, Parmalat, Shell . . . Around the world, corporate scandal - and full-scale collapse - has caught the headlines in a spectacular way, and investors avidly search for scapegoats. We all express surprise at such catastrophes - yet extinction is an inherent fact of life, and failure comes calling at the door of companies both gigantic and small.

Over 17,000 companies will go bust this year in the UK alone. But is this a bad thing? And if so why does the US, with its hugely dynamic economy, see more than 10 per cent of companies disappear each year?

In his inimitable fashion, 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.

Edition details

• Publisher: Faber and Faber
• Publication date: 2005
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0571220126
• ISBN 13: 9780571220120
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 272