Management lessons from the War in Iraq

Tim Harford’s new book Adapt is a terrifically good read - just packed with interesting ideas and told with a flourish that makes it tough to put down. Reviewed here. I am really keen for all of my students to read it as soon as their exams are over. I have been teaching government failure this week and have used this talk from Tim at the TedX Conference at Warwick University just a few weeks back. This is an enthralling eighteen minute talk exploring the genesis of the changes in US military strategy in Iraq that turned the course of the battle against insurgents and which successfully undermined Rumsfeld’s appalling unwillingness to tolerate dissenting views. Tim’s opening remarks mention the Battle for Haditha - memorably covered in this film directed by Nick Broomfield.

Tim Harford’s TED talk

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Oxbridge Economics: Introduction to Game Theory [21 May 2012]
Unit 3 Micro: Game Theory and Business Economics [21 May 2012]
Unit 2 Macro: Migration and the UK Economy [20 May 2012]
Unit 2 Macro: The Importance of Productivity [20 May 2012]
Unit 2 Macro: Revision Notes on Supply-side Policies [10 May 2012]
Unit 3 Micro: Innovation in Markets [10 May 2012]
Unit 2 Macro: Growth and Development Glossary [5 May 2012]
Robert Schiller - Finance and the Good Society [1 May 2012]
Unit 4 Macro: The Euro Zone Crisis (Revision) [22 Apr 2012]
Unit 3 Micro: The Third Industrial Revolution [20 Apr 2012]
Unit 1 Micro: Market Failure in Private Health Care [8 Apr 2012]
Unit 4 Macro: Productivity Improvements in China [3 Apr 2012]
Price of Stamp increases to 60p [27 Mar 2012]
Unit 2 Macro: Policies to Drive Economic Recovery [9 Mar 2012]
Unit 2 Macro: Focus on UK Manufacturing [6 Mar 2012]
Adapt or Die - Lord Bilimoria and the Cobra Story [4 Mar 2012]
Unit 3 Micro: Volkswagen targets growth markets [25 Feb 2012]
The Economics of Climate Change - Stern 5 Years On [21 Feb 2012]
Unit 4 Macro: Focus on India - Comparative Advantage [27 Jan 2012]
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Unit 3 Micro: 3D Printing and a Manufacturing Revolution [23 Jan 2012]
Unit 1 Micro: Nano Technology and Energy Efficiency [17 Jan 2012]
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Unit 4 Macro: Does Manufacturing Matter? [10 Jan 2012]
Introduction to Neuroeconomics - Fusing Psychology with Economics [16 Dec 2011]
Unit 3 Micro: Hope Bikes - A Commitment to Excellence [30 Nov 2011]
Some Practice Interview Questions [27 Nov 2011]
Unit 3 Micro: Patent Wars might Stifle Innovation [23 Nov 2011]
Unit 1 Micro: Asymmetric Information - Buying a Used Car [14 Nov 2011]
Unit1 Micro: Australia pass Carbon Tax [8 Nov 2011]
Unit 3 Micro: Impulses to Change Management Models [5 Nov 2011]
Unit 4 Macro: Richard Florida on the Great Reset [5 Nov 2011]
Unit 2 Macro: A New £50 comes into circulation [2 Nov 2011]
Unit 1 Micro: Is the Sun Dipping on Solar Subsidies? [27 Oct 2011]
Unit 3 Micro: Tesco Behaving Badly - Price Anchoring [17 Oct 2011]
Keynes Prize: The Economics of Cities (3) [14 Oct 2011]
Can the “invisible hand” solve Africa’s poverty? [13 Oct 2011]
Keynes Prize: The Economics of Cities (2) [13 Oct 2011]
Keynes Prize: The Economics of Cities (1) [12 Oct 2011]
Skidelsky in Madrid [12 Oct 2011]
Why Is Macroeconomics Such A Mess? [11 Oct 2011]
Unit 3 Micro: Contestable Markets - Lucozade takes on Coca Cola [10 Oct 2011]
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Mixing with the Nobel Economists [4 Sep 2011]
Tim Harford - Trial and Error and the God Complex [17 Jul 2011]
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China: The End of Cheap Labour [28 Jun 2011]
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Six Global Trends Shaping Business Strategy [15 Jun 2011]
AS Macro Key Term: Supply-Side Policies [25 May 2011]
A2 Micro: Competition Policy [20 May 2011]
A2 Micro: Price Discrimination [19 May 2011]
A2 Micro: The Importance of Profit [19 May 2011]
A2 Micro: Market Structure, Conduct & Performance [19 May 2011]
A2 Micro: Examples of Price Discrimination [19 May 2011]
A2 Micro: Competition and Efficiency [19 May 2011]
A2 Micro: Outsourcing [18 May 2011]
A2 Micro: Innovation and Economic Policies [18 May 2011]
A2 Micro: Innovation Efficiency and Welfare [18 May 2011]
A2 Micro: Ownership and Control in Modern Businesses [18 May 2011]
A2 Micro: Moving Away from Profit Max [18 May 2011]
Unit 3 Micro: Diseconomies of Scale [18 May 2011]
A2 Macro: Revealed Advantage [12 May 2011]
Review of “Adapt” by Tim Harford [9 May 2011]
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A2 Micro: Innovation in Markets [4 May 2011]
AS and A2 Macro Revision: Keynesian Economics [28 Apr 2011]
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Smartphones and Creative Destruction [16 Apr 2011]
Information Empires and Monopolies [2 Apr 2011]
Innovation: Google’s Driverless Car [31 Mar 2011]
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Timetric: Research and Development in the UK [7 Mar 2011]
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Nokia and Microsoft form strategic partnership [12 Feb 2011]
Shared Value and the Limitations of CSR [12 Feb 2011]
EU Economics: Hopes for a low carbon future in Europe [3 Feb 2011]
James Dyson on Innovation [1 Feb 2011]
Adapt - Tim Harford’s new book [27 Jan 2011]
Shorting the market - the vultures target HMV [23 Jan 2011]
Tesco - Time to start a price war! [19 Jan 2011]
Economics Q&A: Tragedy of the Commons and Market Failure [18 Jan 2011]
Firefox overtakes IE in the EU Browser Market [5 Jan 2011]
Manufacturing growth in the UK [30 Dec 2010]
Movie Rental on a USB Stick! [11 Dec 2010]
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