- Seven Deadly Stupidities
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- SEVEN DEADLY STUPIDITIES
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Foreword to the book by Silicon Valley legend Guy Kawasaki
Guy Kawasaki, the original Chief Evangelist at Apple, current Chief Evangelist at Canva, and author of 16 books, wrote the foreword for the Seven Deadly Stupidities and here it is:
We've all made stupid mistakes. I know I have. Yet, we tend to glorify success and sweep failure under the rug. My friend, George Pillari, wants to change that. In The Seven Deadly Stupidities, he argues convincingly that we can learn as much from others' dumb mistakes as their victories.
This book is a master class in avoiding catastrophe. It exposes cringeworthy blunders across business, politics, sports and more, like when J.P. Morgan acquired Frank Financial Aid for $175 million without realizing 90 percent of its customer database was fake, or when the captain of cargo ship El Faro sailed into a hurricane based on six-hour-old weather data rather than current forecasts. Don't even get me started on WeWork burning $200 million per month because its business model was built on quicksand.
Yet, the book also shows how smart people make dumb decisions all the time. Overconfidence and ego frequently override logic and data. FOMO drives lemming-like behavior. Quick fixes create bigger problems later. Even the best and brightest make totally avoidable screwups.
If you read nothing else, check out the story of Soviet officer Stanislav Petrov. His clear-headed decisions in 1983 literally prevented nuclear Armageddon and saved humanity. One man overcame emotion, bias, and protocol to make the right call when the stakes were ultimate. We should all aspire to that level of composure under pressure.
The Seven Deadly Stupidities is a must-read for any leader or decision-maker. Learn from the blunders of others so you can avoid catastrophe and maximize success.
As George likes to say, 80 percent of success is simply not being stupid. This book shows you how to avoid stupid mistakes and even be remarkable.
Guy Kawasaki
Chief Evangelist of Canva and Author of Think Remarkable
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