This is the seventh in a year-long series where I share my top risk management reading recommendations. These are the books I review regularly regarding the discipline of risk management and related issues. Each of these gives you hints on how to recognize, prioritize and mobilize solutions for the risks you face in your organization.
I previously shared some tips for making notes and summarizing key points from the books I read, as well as some recommendations for other publications that will help you keep up with trends. Let me know what works for you and then check out my reading suggestions for July:
Blue on Blue: An Insider’s Story of Good Cops Catching Bad Cops
By Charles Campisi
Charles Campisi ran the NYPD’s Internal Affairs Unit for many years. In this book, he gives hundreds of examples of misconduct involving NYPD officers and discusses how he caught those bad cops and sent a message to all the other cops that they would be caught if they tried to do something wrong.
As I read this work, I remember an experience I had in Wales many years ago. After two days of lecturing there, the chief constable said to me, “I think you have lied to us for two days. You are not an American, you must be Welsh, otherwise, how do you know so much about my organization?” My answer was “It is the same circus with different clowns.”
Everyone in police work needs to read Campisi’s book because what happens in the NYPD can happen in your department and “forewarned is forearmed.” I think you will enjoy his writing style also. Please note how many of the cops he arrested were living in their Mom’s basement.
Unaccountable: What Hospitals Won’t Tell You and How Transparency Can Revolutionize Healthcare
By Dr. Marty Markary
For those of you who have been to my live lectures, I often point out how much the public wants from law enforcement in terms of transparency and how much heat is directed at police and sheriff departments when there is the slightest hint that a “cop” has done something wrong. I wish that the public would have a similar concern about the medical profession in the U.S. and what is really going on there in terms of murders, deaths and cover-ups. You will be utterly fascinated by the breadth and depth of problems in hospitals. This book is a mandatory read if you have anyone in your family scheduled for surgery any time soon.
Disastrous Decisions
By Andrew Hopkins
Dr. Hopkins writes a great book. I read some of his earlier work, but this book focuses on the “Deepwater Horizon” tragedy. He is able to cut through all the tech talk and show all the problems lying in wait at British Petroleum, TransOcean and Halliburton – and the drilling industry as a whole that led to this massive tragedy that killed 11 – and did a huge amount of damage to the Gulf region. His thoughts on high-risk organizations, confirmation bias, lessons learned, audits and tunnel vision are enlightening. As odd as this sounds, you will also get a primer on the dangers involved in using a word processor.
That’s it for this month. Let me know what you think of these books and share your leadership and risk management reading recommendations. Email editor@police1.com.
