Inside CVC: Edward Tenner on Unintended Consequences, Deep Organizations, and Boardroom Risk

About this episode

Edward Tenner discusses how successful organizations can still make catastrophic mistakes due to confidence and blind spots.

What do the Hindenburg, the Titanic, Boeing, and the Challenger disaster have in common? According to historian and author Edward Tenner, they were not failures of incompetence. They were failures born from success, confidence, and blind spots. In this episode of Inside CVC, Tenner explains why highly capable organizations still make catastrophic mistakes. From the smoking lounge on the Hindenburg to safety measures that destabilized the SS Eastland, which capsized in 1915 while docked in the...

People in this episode

Guest: Edward Tenner

Topics covered

• unintended consequences
• organizational failures
• historical disasters
• boardroom risk

Keywords

• Hindenburg
• Titanic
• Boeing
• Challenger disaster
• safety measures
• organizational behavior

Mentioned in this episode

Products: Hindenburg, Titanic, Challenger, the SS Eastland

Books & works: Inside CVC

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