Summary of The Power of Resilience

Yossi Sheffi

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Rating

The rating – what does it mean?

At getAbstract, we summarize books* that help people understand the world and make it better. Whatever we select for our library has to excel in one or the other of these two core criteria:

Enlightening – You’ll learn things that will inform and improve your decisions.

Helpful – You’ll take-away practical advice that will help you get better at what you do.

We rate each piece of content on a scale of 1–10 with regard to these two core criteria. Our rating helps you sort the titles on your reading list from adequate (5) to brilliant (10). Books we rate below 5 won’t be summarized. Here's what the ratings mean:

5 –Solid. A helpful and/or enlightening book, inspite of its obvious shortcomings. For instance, it may be offer decent advice in some areas but be repetitive or unremarkable in others. 6 – Notable. A helpful and/or enlightening book that stands out by at least one aspect, e.g. is particularly well structured. 7 – Good. A helpful and/or enlightening book that combines two or more noteworthy strengths, e.g. contains uncommonly novel ideas and presents them in an engaging manner. 8 – Very good. A helpful and/or enlightening book that has a substantial number of outstanding qualities without excelling across the board, e.g. presents the latest findings in a topical field and is written by a renowned expert but lacks a bit in style. 9 – Superb. A helpful and/or enlightening book that is extremely well rounded, has many strengths and no shortcomings worth mentioning. 10 – Brilliant. A helpful and/or enlightening book that, in addition to meeting the highest standards in all pertinent aspects, stands out even among the best. Often an instant classic and must-read for everyone. While the rating tells you how good a book is according to our two core criteria, it says nothing about its particular defining features. Therefore, we use a set of 20 qualities to characterize each book by its strengths:

Applicable – You’ll get advice that can be directly applied in the workplace or in everyday situations.
Analytical – You’ll understand the inner workings of the subject matter.
Background – You’ll get contextual knowledge as a frame for informed action or analysis.
Bold – You’ll find arguments that may break with predominant views.
Comprehensive – You’ll find every aspect of the subject matter covered.
Concrete Examples – You’ll get practical advice illustrated with examples of real-world applications or anecdotes.
Eloquent – You’ll enjoy a masterfully written or presented text.
Engaging – You’ll read or watch this all the way through the end.
Eye opening – You’ll be offered highly surprising insights.
For beginners – You’ll find this to be a good primer if you’re a learner with little or no prior experience/knowledge.
For experts – You’ll get the higher-level knowledge/instructions you need as an expert.
Hot Topic – You’ll find yourself in the middle of a highly debated issue.
Innovative – You can expect some truly fresh ideas and insights on brand-new products or trends.
Insider’s take – You’ll have the privilege of learning from someone who knows her or his topic inside-out.
Inspiring – You’ll want to put into practice what you’ve read immediately.
Overview – You’ll get a broad treatment of the subject matter, mentioning all its major aspects.
Scientific – You’ll get facts and figures grounded in scientific research.
Visionary – You’ll get a glimpse of the future and what it might mean for you.
Well structured – You’ll find this to be particularly well organized to support its reception or application.

*getAbstract is summarizing much more than books. We look at every kind of content that may matter to our audience: books, but also articles, reports, videos and podcasts. What we say here about books applies to all formats we cover.

Qualities

Applicable

Recommendation

Interdependencies within and between national economies make global and national systems – like financial networks or the world’s food chain – increasingly susceptible to disruption. A factory fire in one corner of the globe might create a supply chain domino effect – halting production of finished goods worldwide. MIT engineering instructor Yossi Sheffi warns that a breach of environmental standards by an obscure, deep-tier supplier might threaten the reputation of firms further up the chain. getAbstract recommends his forward-looking overview to leaders and risk managers – especially in large firms – who are building the response capability to deal quickly and effectively with disasters and disruptions.

About the Author

Yossi Sheffi teaches engineering systems at MIT and advises firms and governments on risk and supply chain management.

Summary

Risk

Organizations navigate an increasingly complex and interdependent world. Exports of goods and materials steadily rocket upward. Container ships carrying goods more than doubled their capacity from 1999 to 2013. Materials move between nations as sophisticated computer and communications networks extract inefficiencies from the system, lowering costs while heightening risk.

Risk exists throughout the supply chain. A final product often relies on tiers of providers scattered worldwide. Few end producers have visibility into the workings of their deep-tier suppliers. This leaves them, their customers and the economy vulnerable to natural disaster, acts of sabotage, network failure, labor issues, financial crises, political interference and cyberattack. With scant inventory due to made-to-order practices, a thin margin of error and many “moving pieces,” firms face exposure and risk. The global supply chain binds the world so closely that a large earthquake inflicts almost as much damage 10,000 miles from its epicenter as it does 10 miles away.