On Decision Making and Problem Solving in a Crisis.
Recently finished a fascinating book on the murder of our 20th President - James Garfield and how it was not the assassins bullet that actually killed him - but the mistakes (preventable) in his medical treatment by the "reputed" doctors at the time. It is a fascinating tale and I would highly recommend the book: Destiny of the Republic by Candice Millard. A tale of madness, medicine and the murder of the president. There are a number of patterns in this tale : Vanity of key decision makers, Insanity and Delusions of the assassin ( A depressingly recurring pattern in US history of the killing or attempted killing of presidents) , fear and distrust of new technology and methods - when faced with a crisis. The last pattern is the one I am interested in - as it is a common one occurring in management and decision making. The question is : How best to avoid the types of mistakes that the doctors made- that turned out to be ultimately fatal to the president. I essence t