Sign-In
Cart
Outsmarting the Avalanche: Circumvent Catastrophe, Conquer Crisis, and Cultivate Culture
Paperback
Publisher Price: $31.99
ISBN13: 9781606496831
Publisher: Business Expert Press
Published: Jul 9 2026
Pages: 162
Weight: 0.50
Height: 0.35 Width: 6.00 Depth: 9.00
Language: English
The most dangerous decisions always sound like common sense. Can you tell the difference?
In high-stakes leadership, failure is rarely the result of stupidity or malice. It is the cumulative weight of rational decisions, of small concessions in culture, process, and accountability that feel like common sense in the moment but create catastrophic momentum over time.
How do you recognize a disaster when it still looks like a strategic pivot?
Fintech veteran Mike Orlando has spent twenty years navigating the boardrooms of Garmin, Visa, and CyberSource. Now he's pulling back the curtain on corporate crises. Part memoir and part tactical handbook, this executive-level choose-your-own-adventure places you at the center of an organizational breakdown.
As the narrative unfolds, you aren't just a reader. You are the decision-maker. Through fictionalized scenarios based on real-world leadership challenges, you will:
- Audit the Culture: Use diagnostic frameworks to spot flawed logic when it's dressed up as common sense.
- Trace the Pattern: Connect modern workplace dynamics to historical failures, where the smartest people in the room got it wrong.
- Improve the Logic Identify the logical fallacies hidden within strategies, decks, and leadership alignment.
Whether you are a senior executive refining your strategic intuition or an emerging leader building organizational fluency, Outsmarting the Avalanche is a masterclass in critical thinking.
Also in
Management
Crucial Conversations Tools for Talking When Stakes Are High, Second Edition
Patterson, Kerry
Switzler, Al
Grenny, Joseph
Paperback
Whale Done!: The Power of Positive Relationships
Blanchard, Kenneth
Lacinak, Thad
Tompkins, Chuck
Hardcover
Quiet Girls Can Run the World: Owning Your Power When You're Not the "Alpha" in the Room
Holman, Rebecca
Paperback
The Art of Communication: How to Be Authentic, Lead Others, and Create Strong Connections
Apps, Judy
Hardcover
Unreasonable Hospitality: The Remarkable Power of Giving People More Than They Expect
Guidara, Will
Hardcover
Hbr's 10 Must Reads on Managing Yourself, Updated and Expanded (Featuring How Will You Measure Your Life? by Clayton M. Christensen)
Review, Harvard Business
Drucker, Peter F.
Gallo, Amy
Paperback
Hbr's 10 Must Reads on Mental Toughness, Updated and Expanded (Featuring How to Stop Worrying about What Other People Think of You by Michael Gervais)
Review, Harvard Business
Gervais, Michael
Duckworth, Angela L.
Paperback
Surrender to Lead: The Counterintuitive Approach to Driving Extraordinary Results
Terry, Joe
Kriegel, Jessica
Hardcover
Take Breaks, Work Better: Measure Impact, Not Hours, and Transform Your Profitability
Briggs, John
Paperback
Strong Ground: The Lessons of Daring Leadership, the Tenacity of Paradox, and the Wisdom of the Human Spirit
Brown, Brené
Hardcover
Hbr's 10 Must Reads on Leadership, Updated and Expanded (Featuring Begin with Trust by Frances X. Frei and Anne Morriss)
Review, Harvard Business
Edmondson, Amy C.
Ibarra, Herminia
Paperback
How We Could: The Framework to Lead Without Drama, Build Alignment, and Call Teams to Greatness
Dorr, Alex
Hardcover
What the Heck Is Eos?: A Complete Guide for Employees in Companies Running on EOS
Wickman, Gino
Bouwer, Tom
Hardcover
The Year in Tech, 2026: The Insights You Need from Harvard Business Review
Webb, Amy
Review, Harvard Business
Anthony, Scott D.
Paperback
The Coaching Habit: Say Less, Ask More, and Change the Way You Lead Forever
Stanier, Michael Bungay
Paperback
Hbr's 10 Must Reads 2026: The Definitive Management Ideas of the Year from Harvard Business Review (Featuring the Strategic Genius of Taylor Swift by
Review, Harvard Business
Meyer, Erin
Flyvbjerg, Bent
Paperback
Stop Asking for Referrals: Build a Magnetic Business Through Intentional Care & Real Relationships
McNally, Flor de Maria
Paperback
Get Scalable: The Operating System Your Business Needs To Run and Scale Without You
Deiss, Ryan
Paperback
Never Split the Difference: Negotiating as If Your Life Depended on It
Voss, Chris
Raz, Tahl
Hardcover
The Mom Test: How to talk to customers & learn if your business is a good idea when everyone is lying to you
Fitzpatrick, Rob
Paperback
Building Great Businesses: Create Momentum, Overcome Setbacks, and Scale with Confidence
Becker, Scott
Hardcover
Bookkeeping - Accounting for Small Business: A Quickstudy Laminated Reference Guide
Epstein, Lita
Other
Influence and Persuasion (HBR Emotional Intelligence Series)
Cialdini, Robert B.
Review, Harvard Business
Morgan, Nick
Paperback
The First 90 Days, Updated and Expanded: Proven Strategies for Getting Up to Speed Faster and Smarter
Watkins, Michael D.
Hardcover
Getting to Yes: Negotiating Agreement Without Giving in
Patton, Bruce
Fisher, Roger
Ury, William
Paperback
Take It Personal: How to Succeed by Building Relationships and Playing the Long Game
Grutman, David
Hardcover
Feedback That Works: How to Build and Deliver Your Message, Second Edition
Center for Creative Leadership
Paperback
Hbr's 10 Must Reads on Strategy, Updated and Expanded (Featuring the Five Competitive Forces That Shape Strategy by Michael E. Porter)
Kim, W. Chan
Review, Harvard Business
Porter, Michael E.
Paperback
Hbr's 10 Must Reads on High Performance, Updated and Expanded (Featuring Nine Things Successful People Do Differently by Heidi Grant)
Review, Harvard Business
Grant, Heidi
Goleman, Daniel
Paperback
Hbr's 10 Must Reads on Managing People, Updated and Expanded (Featuring Are You a Good Boss--Or a Great One? by Linda A. Hill and Kent Lineback)
Review, Harvard Business
Goleman, Daniel
Hill, Linda A.
Paperback
Dirtbag Billionaire: How Yvon Chouinard Built Patagonia, Made a Fortune, and Gave It All Away
Gelles, David
Hardcover
The Algorithm: The Hypergrowth Formula That Transformed Tesla, Lululemon, General Motors, and Spacex
McNeill, Jon
Hardcover
The Phoenix Project: A Novel about It, Devops, and Helping Your Business Win
Behr, Kevin
Spafford, George
Kim, Gene
Paperback
Genius at Scale: How Great Leaders Drive Innovation
Wild, Jason
Hill, Linda A.
Tedards, Emily
Hardcover
Anchored, Aligned, Accountable: A Framework for Transcending Bullsh*t and Transforming Our Lives and Work
Bethea, Aiko
Hardcover
Getting You Ready for Power: A Woman's Guide to Building Confidence, Community, and Career Success
Meruelo, Alexis
Paperback
Generative Ai: The Insights You Need from Harvard Business Review
Review, Harvard Business
Mollick, Ethan
Cremer, David De
Paperback
The 360 Degree Leader Workbook: Developing Your Influence from Anywhere in the Organization
Maxwell, John C.
Paperback
Competing in the Age of AI: Strategy and Leadership When Algorithms and Networks Run the World
Lakhani, Karim R.
Iansiti, Marco
Hardcover
Indispensable: How to Become the Company That Your Customers Can't Live Without
Calloway, Joe
Hardcover
The Asshole Survival Guide: How to Deal with People Who Treat You Like Dirt
Sutton, Robert I.
Paperback
Hbr's 10 Must Reads on Emotional Intelligence, Updated and Expanded (Featuring What Makes a Leader by Daniel Goleman)
Review, Harvard Business
Goleman, Daniel
Ibarra, Hermina
Paperback
The 6 Types of Working Genius: A Better Way to Understand Your Gifts, Your Frustrations, and Your Team
Lencioni, Patrick M.
Hardcover
The Heart Work of Modern Leadership: 6 Differentiators of Exceptional Leaders
Grossman, David
Paperback
The Oz Principle: Getting Results Through Individual and Organizational Accountability
Hickman, Craig
Connors, Roger
Smith, Tom
Paperback
The Way of the Shepherd: Seven Secrets to Managing Productive People
Leman, Kevin
Pentak, William
Hardcover
The One Thing: The Surprisingly Simple Truth about Extraordinary Results
Keller, Gary
Papasan, Jay
Hardcover
Playing to Win, Expanded with Bonus HBR Articles: How Strategy Really Works
Lafley, A. G.
Martin, Roger L.
Hardcover
Demand-Side Sales 101: Stop Selling and Help Your Customers Make Progress
Engle, Greg
Moesta, Bob
Hardcover
The 5 Languages of Appreciation in the Workplace: Empowering Organizations by Encouraging People
White, Paul
Chapman, Gary
Paperback
Inner Excellence: Train Your Mind for Extraordinary Performance and the Best Possible Life
Murphy, Jim
Paperback
The Hard Thing about Hard Things: Building a Business When There Are No Easy Answers
Horowitz, Ben
Hardcover
Leadership Unblocked: Break Through the Beliefs That Limit Your Potential
Wilkins, Muriel M.
Hardcover
Never Settle: Persuasion and Negotiation Skills to Get What You Want
Richardson, John
Qureshi, Attia
Hardcover
The Things We Hide: A Guide to Identifying Hidden Barriers and Leading with Authenticity
Dickerhoof, Tyler
Hardcover
The Octopus Organization: A Guide to Thriving in a World of Continuous Transformation
Le-Brun, Phil
Werner, Jana
Hardcover
Difficult Conversations: How to Discuss What Matters Most
Stone, Douglas
Heen, Sheila
Patton, Bruce
Paperback
Say This, Not That: How to Master 7 Dreaded Conversations As a Leader in the Modern Workplace
Flickinger, Chris
Paperback
How to Win Friends and Influence People: Updated for the Next Generation of Leaders
Carnegie, Dale
Hardcover
You Don't Need a Title to Be a Leader: How Anyone, Anywhere, Can Make a Positive Difference
Sanborn, Mark
Hardcover
The Founder's Mentality: How to Overcome the Predictable Crises of Growth
Allen, James
Zook, Chris
Hardcover
Positive Intelligence: Why Only 20% of Teams and Individuals Achieve Their True Potential and How You Can Achieve Yours
Chamine, Shirzad
Hardcover
The Leading the Unleadable: How to Manage Mavericks, Cynics, Divas, and Other Difficult People
Willett, Alan
Paperback
Team Topologies, 2nd Edition: Organizing Business and Technology for Fast Flow of Value
Pais, Manuel
Skelton, Matthew
Paperback
The Trusted Advisor: 20th Anniversary Edition
Maister, David H.
Green, Charles
Galford, Robert
Paperback
The Outsiders: Eight Unconventional CEOs and Their Radically Rational Blueprint for Success
Thorndike, William N.
Hardcover
Biblia del Vendedor: Tecnicas Efectivas Para El Vendedor Competitivo
Dey, Alejandro
Dey, Alex
Paperback
The Advantage: Why Organizational Health Trumps Everything Else in Business
Lencioni, Patrick M.
Hardcover
The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership: Follow Them and People Will Follow You
Maxwell, John C.
Hardcover
What Could Possibly Go Right?: The Essential Journey to Scale an Enduring Culture
Meyer, Danny
Hardcover
The New Gold Standard: 5 Leadership Principles for Creating a Legendary Customer Experience Courtesy of the Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company
Michelli, Joseph A.
Hardcover
Rewired: McKinsey's Playbook on How Leading Companies Win with Technology and AI
Lamarre, Eric
Smaje, Kate
Levin, Robert
Hardcover
The Practice of Adaptive Leadership: Tools and Tactics for Changing Your Organization and the World
Grashow, Alexander
Linsky, Marty
Heifetz, Ronald A.
Hardcover
The Lean Six SIGMA Pocket Toolbook: A Quick Reference Guide to Nearly 100 Tools for Improving Quality and Speed
Rowlands, David T.
Price, Mark
George, Michael L.
Paperback
Human + Machine, Updated and Expanded: Reimagining Work in the Age of AI
Daugherty, Paul R.
Wilson, H. James
Hardcover
Harvard Business Review Entrepreneur's Handbook: Everything You Need to Launch and Grow Your New Business
Review, Harvard Business
Paperback
Nolo's Guide to Single-Member Llcs: How to Form & Run Your Single-Member Limited Liability Company
Steingold, David M.
Paperback
Scaling Up: How a Few Companies Make It...and Why the Rest Don't (Rockefeller Habits 2.0)
Harnish, Verne
Paperback
The Challenger Sale: Taking Control of the Customer Conversation
Dixon, Matthew
Adamson, Brent
Hardcover
The Effective Executive: The Definitive Guide to Getting the Right Things Done
Drucker, Peter F.
Paperback
Fight Less, Win More: How Master Negotiators Influence Hearts, Minds, and Deals
Smith, Jonathan B.
Gaunt, Derek
Hardcover
Dare to Think Differently: How Open-Mindedness Creates Exceptional Decision-Making
Zaltman, Gerald
Hardcover
The Next Conversation Workbook: Practical Exercises for Arguing Less and Talking More
Fisher, Jefferson
Paperback
Tax-Free Wealth: How to Build Massive Wealth by Permanently Lowering Your Taxes
Wheelwright, Tom
Paperback
Our Iceberg Is Melting: Changing and Succeeding Under Any Conditions
Kotter, John
Rathgeber, Holger
Hardcover
The Black Swan: Second Edition: The Impact of the Highly Improbable: With a New Section: On Robustness and Fragility
Taleb, Nassim Nicholas
Paperback