Billion Dollar Lessons: What You Can Learn from the Most Inexcusable Business Failures of the Last 25 Years
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- Create Date：2021-10-24 09:54:28
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：Paul B. Carroll
- ISBN：1591842891
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Summary
”This book is your chance to learn from others’ mistakes。”-- Entrepreneur
In the 1960s， IBM CEO Tom Watson called an executive into his office after his venture lost $10 million。 The man assumed he was being fired。 Watson told him， “Fired？ Hell， I spent $10 million educating you。 I just want to be sure you learned the right lessons。”
There are thousands of books about successful companies but virtually none about the lessons to be learned from those that crash and burn。 Now Paul Carroll and Chunka Mui draw on research into more than 750 flameouts to reveal the seven biggest reasons for business failure。
In the 1960s， IBM CEO Tom Watson called an executive into his office after his venture lost $10 million。 The man assumed he was being fired。 Watson told him， “Fired？ Hell， I spent $10 million educating you。 I just want to be sure you learned the right lessons。”
There are thousands of books about successful companies but virtually none about the lessons to be learned from those that crash and burn。 Now Paul Carroll and Chunka Mui draw on research into more than 750 flameouts to reveal the seven biggest reasons for business failure。
Reviews
Vernita Naylor
，
Whether you are a novice， growing or mature business owner we all need a mentor， partner， or another business to look up to and learn from as we intentionally pace ourselves to the next phase of our business。 Billion Dollar Lessons: What You Can Learn from the Most Inexcusable Business Failures of the Last 25 Years by Paul B Carroll and Chunka Mui is a tell-all account of how several major businesses made decisions that either adversely impacted or positively influenced their business bottom lin Whether you are a novice， growing or mature business owner we all need a mentor， partner， or another business to look up to and learn from as we intentionally pace ourselves to the next phase of our business。 Billion Dollar Lessons: What You Can Learn from the Most Inexcusable Business Failures of the Last 25 Years by Paul B Carroll and Chunka Mui is a tell-all account of how several major businesses made decisions that either adversely impacted or positively influenced their business bottom line。 These decisions are what has caused these and countless other businesses to either continue to grow; merge; make heavy choices to scale back products， services， or human capital， or fail， close their doors and file bankruptcy。This book is ideal for me because as a business owner I wondered what were the highs and lows， rise and fall decisions that big business CEOs make in various positions of the companies’ lifecycle。 As a CEO they are in charge of not only spearheading the company but have to know when and where they can put their trust in making these decisions。 Making day-to-day decisions， interpreting current information and trends， to merge or not to merge， and what is a conscientious profit is always at the forefront in determining the best interest for the people， shareholders， and the world。 The CEO can’t do it alone and must rely on a team that reflects the eyes and ears in helping them to make tough decisions。 At times they must either believe the data or trust their guts。 Just as a consumer when you are purchasing products or services from a company it is essential to be well informed about these companies。 Warren Buffett is a mentor for me and as he states in making investment decisions go with what you already know and are familiar with。 Add this one to your library today。 Highly recommended。 。。。more
Sophiepedia
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Aburrido， no tiene sustancia。 Tal vez sea por que no estoy en ese momento de mi vida， pero vaya que me costó acabar。
Reid
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I found the book more educational for outlining the internal decisions of the profiled companies than as a warning of things to avoid。 There are many diverse examples of failures to support the author's argument which make for interesting reading most of the time。 The only part that dragged was the final chapter about adopting devil's advocacy programs。 Said across twenty pages what should have taken three。 I found the book more educational for outlining the internal decisions of the profiled companies than as a warning of things to avoid。 There are many diverse examples of failures to support the author's argument which make for interesting reading most of the time。 The only part that dragged was the final chapter about adopting devil's advocacy programs。 Said across twenty pages what should have taken three。 。。。more
Clare Park
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I found this book from an old Wall Street Journal book review that absolutely raved about it， and it's easy to see why。 It's truly one of the best and most helpful business book I've ever read。 There are so many books that talk about a business' success， so it's refreshing to see that concept turned on its head to give lessons that feel more applicable in the real world。 You can tell that this was a very thoroughly researched book， and the writing is crisp and clear。 This is a book that anyone i I found this book from an old Wall Street Journal book review that absolutely raved about it， and it's easy to see why。 It's truly one of the best and most helpful business book I've ever read。 There are so many books that talk about a business' success， so it's refreshing to see that concept turned on its head to give lessons that feel more applicable in the real world。 You can tell that this was a very thoroughly researched book， and the writing is crisp and clear。 This is a book that anyone in any business sector should read — and now I'm recommending it to you。 。。。more
E。F。
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Executive summary: Don’t lie， cheat， or steal， and use common sense。Key point: Confirmation bias is a major issue。
Himanshu Agrawal
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 Paul B Carroll and Chunka Mui have examined failures of thousands of public companies to arrive at the 7 key reasons/strategies which led to failure:1。 Overestimating synergy benefits2。 Financial engineering/manipulated accounting or financing3。 Rolls ups: buying smaller companies to create a conglomerate4。 Staying the course/ not adapting with changing times5。 Entering adjacent markets6。 Failures in introducing new technologies to new markets7。 Consolidation/ buying too many competing firms
Amr Swalha
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A great book with many lessons that will benefit any reader。
MADHUKAR DAYAL
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A book which explores and points out reasons why firms fail （not just on engaging in mergers and acquisitions， but also for other things they do or do not do！）。 A really comprehensive and educative look。 Full of lessons for business leaders， managers （especially those who， one day， aspire to reach the top）， and entrepreneurs。 Also for， the policy makers （government and regulatory bodies）， in fact。
Nicholas
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Two books in one， showing examples of large mistakes by category - quite interesting - and then the solutions for how to combat these - less original/a rehash of several other authors work。 Basically， get a devils advocate。
Jessica
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3。5。 There's factors that make this a super read， and that make it more of the tunnel vision it pummels。 The thesis highlights are so well-organized， and at some point towards the end of the book's first half， it points out just how wicked and pessimisticly depressing its text surely is， with a comment something to the effect of how the engaged reader may look to stay inside to avoid any such flying anvils。 （Covid-19 certainly drew an okay time to get from start to finish， in this light！） It doe 3。5。 There's factors that make this a super read， and that make it more of the tunnel vision it pummels。 The thesis highlights are so well-organized， and at some point towards the end of the book's first half， it points out just how wicked and pessimisticly depressing its text surely is， with a comment something to the effect of how the engaged reader may look to stay inside to avoid any such flying anvils。 （Covid-19 certainly drew an okay time to get from start to finish， in this light！） It does as much as non-fiction really can， though， with sincere efforts from a standpoint of reasoned risk mitigation。 The tone could be a nice audible if the writing voice maybe collided a bit more with 'How to unf* yourself' reflective humors。 As is， the analysis of company cultures and subgroup dynamics gives such sharp attention to how public companies boil over in varied ways， and delves into often-universal company motives and directives that prioritize inclinations， notions， news feeds， identifiers， value concepts， ego concepts， etc in ways that just don't make sense in light of any kind of business。 It also does an excellent job iterating the climate by which companies look to routinely flatter their customer loyalties， instead of feeling challenged。 。。。more
Mousek
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I'm honestly surprised more people don't rate this book 5 stars。 After reading some of the reviews I was a little worried that I wouldn't find much relevance in this book。 As I'm finishing it up， however， I've got to say that I've learned an awful lot of not just company failures but how anthropology mixes in with corporate culture。 If you're a fan of business， key metrics， or corporate anthropology， this book is for you。 If not， you may find the writing too dry for your tastes as it cites count I'm honestly surprised more people don't rate this book 5 stars。 After reading some of the reviews I was a little worried that I wouldn't find much relevance in this book。 As I'm finishing it up， however， I've got to say that I've learned an awful lot of not just company failures but how anthropology mixes in with corporate culture。 If you're a fan of business， key metrics， or corporate anthropology， this book is for you。 If not， you may find the writing too dry for your tastes as it cites countless studies and cases to show its points。 。。。more
Anandh Sundar
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Academic approach but rigourous to minimize any anecdotal/other bias。 Some good quotes-We may care deeply about customers but feeling often non reciprocal（eg insurance from utilities）-Scariest villains are the good folks who turn bad（eg CEOs）-Independent thinking can help middle managers avoid projects headed for disasters-Cause linked products like craft beer or Snapple risk distributor misalignment if new owner-Synergies should be adjusted for implementation/change management costs， and checke Academic approach but rigourous to minimize any anecdotal/other bias。 Some good quotes-We may care deeply about customers but feeling often non reciprocal（eg insurance from utilities）-Scariest villains are the good folks who turn bad（eg CEOs）-Independent thinking can help middle managers avoid projects headed for disasters-Cause linked products like craft beer or Snapple risk distributor misalignment if new owner-Synergies should be adjusted for implementation/change management costs， and checked if partnerships can work instead（eg Hertz+Westin+United）-it will if benefits are OBVIOUS-Some novel examples like GreenTree（30 year mortgages for 10-15 year trailer homes）-Failling interest rates affects insurance companies（lower investment yields） and lenders（re-finance）-Having pilot manager sit in the 2nd seat if they overrule safety rules， made deaths=0-Abolition of devil's advocate aka black hat thinking role in Vatican made canonization 20x more （500/year） from 1983=>but antibody like rejection by those who ideas were lost is the risk 。。。more
Samuel Kemp
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Limited new info， mostly reorganizing existing content in other strategy/behavioral science books。
Ties
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Solid business books that has a great scope and plenty of examples。 Well suited to strategic thinkers， consultants and executives working on a decision making or evaluation framework。Doesn't change your thinking though， so I can't recommend it Solid business books that has a great scope and plenty of examples。 Well suited to strategic thinkers， consultants and executives working on a decision making or evaluation framework。Doesn't change your thinking though， so I can't recommend it 。。。more
Boni Aditya
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Three fourths of the book deals with various ways in which Billion Dollar Empires collapse。 The last one fourth of the book deals with a solutions to tackle the pitfalls of strategy。 The three fourths of the book that deals with how Corporations kill themselves， through acquisitions， chasing wrong technologies， with biases， mergers， expansions， industry consolidations and dreams of grandeur etc。。。 is the best part of the book。 A very good collection of Billion Dollar Bankruptcies over decades ca Three fourths of the book deals with various ways in which Billion Dollar Empires collapse。 The last one fourth of the book deals with a solutions to tackle the pitfalls of strategy。 The three fourths of the book that deals with how Corporations kill themselves， through acquisitions， chasing wrong technologies， with biases， mergers， expansions， industry consolidations and dreams of grandeur etc。。。 is the best part of the book。 A very good collection of Billion Dollar Bankruptcies over decades carefully curated into an organized collection。 This is a very interesting read， and will help you a lot when you try to devise a strategy for your corporation。 All the usual suspects are captures， with a chapter dedicated to the unusual biases that are inherent to humans as individuals and as Groups。 The last quarter of the book that deals with the solution i。e。 the Devils Advocate approach requiring to Review the Strategy before it is chased down by the Management is the worst part of the book。 The Solution is a simple BELL THE CAT type of a super solution presented to an extremely complex problem of Strategy causing Bankruptcy。 The solution， though mentioned in extreme detail is flawed never the less， not because it is a bad one， but because it is practically impossible to vet a strategy with a team such diverse individuals and not all boards and managements are gifted enough to have an acquaintance with such a LEAGUE OF EXTRA ORDINARY GENTLE MAN/ GODS in this case。 But the book is a very good one！The best part of the books or the peak of the book according to me is the section where he discusses the network effects through metcalfe's laws （n square） and network of network effects or （two to the power of n） Reed's Law！ Here is a list of books that the author has mentioned during the passing of the book。Surviving TransformationThe Innovators DilemmaBeyond the CoreThrough the Looking GlassThe Red Queen - Elizabeth PonticusBlue Ocean StrategyHuman UniversalsGroupthinkThe Black SwanFooled By RandomnessThe Structure of Scientific RevolutionsThe Subjective Side of ScienceNormal AccidentsWisdom of CrowdsDoing what MattersWill your next mistake be fatalThe 10 faces of innovationThe Effective ExecutiveLateral Thinking - De BonoThe Essence of Strategic Decision makingGrowth GambleThinking in TimeBay of Pigs - The Untold StoryPredictably Irrational 。。。more
kamal
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A must read if you run a company or invest in shares
Mark Kelley
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One word review: NextWave
Enrique
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 The stories are really good， **spoiler alert** the infamous “economies of scale” it’s the principle murder here， this books deserves a better end
Harsh Thaker
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One of few books which dissects business failures and shows a way on “ how not to run a business “ Good business anecdotes which shows how humans under biases， preconceived notions， irrational thinking leads to business failures leading to “billion” dollars bankruptcy。
Diego Leal
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Many strategic analysis of failed decisions by multiple companies。 Good premise but overall unimpressive。
roundface
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It is a book about Strategic Planning。 It points out the "traps of strategy" -- which are flawed but seemingly make sense。 Building 'devil's advocacy' in decision-making and 'escalation path' in execution is critical。 It is a book about Strategic Planning。 It points out the "traps of strategy" -- which are flawed but seemingly make sense。 Building 'devil's advocacy' in decision-making and 'escalation path' in execution is critical。 。。。more
Will Clausen
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Good business stories/case studies and analysis。 A bit dry at some parts， and some sections felt overly simple。 But overall happy to have read it。
Robert
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So many takeaways， so little time。 I found it thoroughly enjoyable， but also cringed while listening to the stories， having read the audiobook。 This book suffers somewhat from that of many business books: the facts are great but the prescriptive advice questionable or unrealistic。 These billion dollar mistakes occur because people don't listen to advice， so an ego-stuffed mis-compensated c-level putz and her servile minions aren't likely to read info-rich books like this。 They are especially not So many takeaways， so little time。 I found it thoroughly enjoyable， but also cringed while listening to the stories， having read the audiobook。 This book suffers somewhat from that of many business books: the facts are great but the prescriptive advice questionable or unrealistic。 These billion dollar mistakes occur because people don't listen to advice， so an ego-stuffed mis-compensated c-level putz and her servile minions aren't likely to read info-rich books like this。 They are especially not likely when a banker is whispering sweet nothings。 Of the points that hit closest to home， there is one huge takeaway for you as employee， investor， banker， or leader: mergers and acquisitions generally DO。 NOT。 WORK。 Plan accordingly。 。。。more
Lone Wong
，
“People focus on role models; it is more effective to find antimodels - people you don't want to resemble when you grow up” This is the Aphorism by Nassim Taleb that engrossed inside my mind forever that changed my perception of successful people。 Business books routinely look at success and suggest how readers can emulate their strategies。 But no one looks at failures and layout methods for how not emulate them。 Look at the shelves of Business section in our bookstore。 There is numerous publ “People focus on role models; it is more effective to find antimodels - people you don't want to resemble when you grow up” This is the Aphorism by Nassim Taleb that engrossed inside my mind forever that changed my perception of successful people。 Business books routinely look at success and suggest how readers can emulate their strategies。 But no one looks at failures and layout methods for how not emulate them。 Look at the shelves of Business section in our bookstore。 There is numerous published book about successful companies， successful entrepreneur and artist who embrace obstacles and overcome challenges on their way to success。 And quite often those books author bragged about their visionary mind and keen sight for their prediction and precise strategy to overcome their failure。 Of cause， people like the happy ending， success stories in order for them to emulate and to increase their risk appetite for success。 But， no one talks about the loser in the games， who knows we are just looking at the "Survivor of the fittest"， or "Survivorship Bias"。 At the Wall Street Journal， there is a saying， "There are no new stories， just new reporters。" It seems the same is true of business。 There are no new mistakes， just new executives and new companies。 I've read a lot of business books about strategic planning， marketing planning， and many entrepreneur biographies。 It's paradoxical for me to determine whether their decision making that leads them to the road of success or just plain luck that is so abstract that we overlook the probabilities。 After reading this book， it's inevitable that some of the failed strategies in this book also attributes to perfect strategies in other business books like Good to Great。 In fact， I came to the conclusion that "Things always become obvious after the fact" or "Failure isn't a failure when it did not fail"。 Recalled from the book， The Black Swan， Nassim coined that "Narrative Fallacy" is the problems of human nature is associated with our vulnerability to overinterpretation and our predilection for compact stories over raw truths。 It severely distorted our mental representation of the world。 Because explanations bind facts together。 They make them all the more easily to remember; they help them make more sense， and this leads us the highly improbable consequential events。 It is the same inevitable mistakes for both of the good and bad strategy which only lead me to the Paradoxical situation of doing nothing。 （Doing nothing is also one of the strategies that lead to success or failure。 I'll read The Strategy Paradox by Michael E。 Raynor real soon）Of cause， the author emphatically stressed that: "To be clear: We aren't saying that strategies are doomed to failure。 Far from it。 In the right circumstances， all of these strategies can succeed rapidly。 All we're saying is that these strategies are danger zones。 If you're pursuing one of those strategies， you need to be extremely alert to what can go wrong， and ready to react before your business is flirting with disaster。" So， my question is， what is the definition of In the right circumstances？ Luck？ Timing？ Environmental facts？ We don't know。 But I think chance and luck plays a huge role in strategic planning。 But there has to be a method， agreed on ahead of time， for discussing possible problems and given extra efforts or tinkering。 Otherwise， once it starts to build momentum it will only lead to a consequential problem。 I'm not gonna stress the seven strategies from the book since chances and luck play a huge role in success。 （If anyone curious， you can check the book context online）。 The book distinguishes into two parts。 Part 1 will be more focusing on the strategies and case studies of companies who adopted those deadly strategies。 Part 2 will be inquiring more about human psychology and nature that contribute to the fact of failure strategy。 At last， the author describes; "You'd think that with the lessons of the crisis now in full view， companies might learn some of the lessons （or even reading this book） that failures have to offer。 Instead， the same old mistakes continue to be made。" So， why bother mistake even though we humans are flawed and far from doing a rational decision？ 。。。more
Karen Zhang
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The author made his point very clearly: companies want to pursue growth for many reasons， and M&A is one of the fastest ways to achieve growth， however， the growth may not be sustainable over the long term given that few M&A have real synergy。 He used many examples to illustrate how perceived synergy doesn’t lead to real synergy in reality。 I think it’s a valid point and we should be mindful when analyzing companies that expand into new business/geography through M&A。
Aharon
，
Reader， I made them。
Ke Lun
，
Key learning: Good judgement is usually the result of experience。 and experience is frequently the result of bad judgement。Setup a devil's advocate panel to hear the alternate story。 Key learning: Good judgement is usually the result of experience。 and experience is frequently the result of bad judgement。Setup a devil's advocate panel to hear the alternate story。 。。。more
Abu Kamdar
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A must read for anybody involved in business in any way。
Daniel
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When thinking about leadership or strategy， I find that is is better to understand failure than success。 In Billion Dollar Lessons， Carroll explains multiple ways in which businesses fail at a spectacular level。 The mental traps that CEOs and their businesses fall into correlate into how military and government planners fail in strategy。 More than just describing the mental traps and anecdotal failures， Carroll provides recommendations on how to mitigate these risks。 Paramount in the mitigation When thinking about leadership or strategy， I find that is is better to understand failure than success。 In Billion Dollar Lessons， Carroll explains multiple ways in which businesses fail at a spectacular level。 The mental traps that CEOs and their businesses fall into correlate into how military and government planners fail in strategy。 More than just describing the mental traps and anecdotal failures， Carroll provides recommendations on how to mitigate these risks。 Paramount in the mitigation proposals is the concept of Red Teaming。 A practice which in my opinion is underutilized by the military。 I highly recommend this book as both a source for both military planning and military leadership。 。。。more
Nick Hernandez
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