True stories
Every one of these happened, and every one lists its sources. They're grouped by area. Open a story to see which ideas it shows.
1Management Fundamentals18 stories
- The Same MinesHenri Fayol · 1888-1918
- The Captain Asked PermissionDeepwater Horizon (Transocean, drilling for BP) · 2010
- No Requirement for ImageryNASA · January 2003
- One Order in a Day of RehearsalsBramwell Tovey, Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra (observed by Henry Mintzberg) · published 1998
- The First Red ChartFord Motor Company, Alan Mulally · 2006–2014
- Fifteen Issues in Eighteen MinutesHenry Mintzberg · 1968–1975
- The High-Priced ManFrederick W. Taylor · 1899-1912
- The Gang Boss Who Changed SidesFrederick Winslow Taylor · from 1878
- Working by MoonlightWestern Electric's Hawthorne Works · 1924–1927
- The Handkerchief You Can Throw AwayKimberly-Clark · 1924-1930
- The Billions Nobody WantedHaloid Xerox · 1958-1965
- Radios the Managers Couldn't HearXerox field service technicians in Denver, as studied by Julian Orr · 1991
- Exceeded Our ExpectationsQuibi · 2020
- Master, Apprentice, Grand-ApprenticeHaidilao · 2016–2018
- The Training They Ran Ten TimesMicrosoft · 2002
- Luckily, We FailedGoogle · 2009–2012
- The Candidate Who Never Learned to DelegateCenter for Creative Leadership (Morgan McCall and Michael Lombardo) · 1983
- The Last Thing IBM Needs Right NowIBM (Lou Gerstner) · 1993
2Self-Management19 stories
- The Chairman's Three ThirdsA company chairman, as told by Peter Drucker · published 1967
- Twenty TypistsAlan Turing, Gordon Welchman, Hugh Alexander and Stuart Milner-Barry · October–November 1941
- Not for This, but in Spite of ItAbraham Lincoln and Joseph Hooker · January–July 1863
- First; SafetyToyota Motor Corporation and its president, Akio Toyoda · 2009–2014
- Three Kisses or FiveMeng Zhu, Yang Yang and Christopher Hsee · 2018
- The Shrimp in the Rice PaddiesJerry and Monique Sternin, Save the Children · from December 1990
- The Date Came FirstShreve, Lamb & Harmon, architects of the Empire State Building · 1929 to 1931
- A Magnificent Navy on LandThe British Admiralty, as counted by C. Northcote Parkinson · 1914–1955
- The Cushion That Kept Running OutNASA's James Webb Space Telescope project · 2011–2021
- Thirteen Years LateASML · 1997–2019
- Twenty-One More DaysCD Projekt · 2012–2021
- One Percent of the BugsMicrosoft · 2002
- Thirty-Nine Years, Then One HourA passenger on Eastern Air Lines Flight 1320 · 1970, 2009
- Consider It DoneE. J. Masicampo and Roy Baumeister · 2011
- The Question Nobody ForgotSophie Leroy · 2009–2018
- Quiet TimeA Fortune 500 software team, studied by Leslie Perlow · published 1999
- The Calendar PurgeShopify · 2023
- One Line on a Flu Shot LetterKatherine Milkman and colleagues, with a Midwestern utility company · fall 2009
- A Week in the DiariesK. Anders Ericsson, Ralf Krampe and Clemens Tesch-Römer, with violin students in West Berlin · published 1993
3Goals & Metrics24 stories
- Four Hundred Fifty-Two GoalsAmazon, Jeff Bezos · 2009–2010
- Twenty-Four Days on PaperU.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Phoenix VA Health Care System · 2011–2014
- Before This Decade Is OutJohn F. Kennedy and NASA · 1961-1969
- Leaving the Woods LightGary Latham, J. James Baldes and Weyerhaeuser's logging truck drivers · published 1975
- The Car That Knew It Was Being TestedVolkswagen · 2006–2017
- Under 2,000 Pounds, Under $2,000Ford Motor Company · 1968–1981
- Two Thousand PinsIntel · 1979-1980
- Ten Percent, Twenty Minutes ApartNetflix · 2006–2012
- Fifteen Percent and Ten TurnsGeneral Electric under Jack Welch · 1991–1998
- Every Measure Up, the Stock DownAnalog Devices · 1987–1999
- Ten Cents a Gallon for a Clean RestroomMobil U.S. Marketing and Refining · 1992–1999
- May Be the Best EverBP's Texas City refinery · 2004–2007
- Thirty Points for a CommentFacebook (Mark Zuckerberg) · 2018-2021
- The Fastest-Growing Network Thingy EverGoogle · 2011–2018
- Eight Is GreatWells Fargo · 2002–2016
- Eighteen Minutes Is PlentyDomino's Pizza · 1984–1994
- The Champion That Never FinishedOpenAI · 2016
- The Last Ten MinutesMid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust (Stafford Hospital) · 2005–2013
- Make the FloorAtlanta Public Schools · 2001–2015
- The Tail CountFrench colonial government of Hanoi · 1902
- Not More Than 48 Hours AheadTony Blair's government and England's GP practices · 2004–2008
- Repairs per ShiftSears Auto Centers · 1990–1992
- The Equivalent of 700 AgentsKlarna · 2024–2025
- The One Thing Going for UsRobert McNamara and the US Army in Vietnam · 1966–1970
4Decision-Making27 stories
- Two Kinds of PlaygroundHerbert Simon · 1934-1935
- Twenty Percent MoreSheena Iyengar, Rachael Wells and Barry Schwartz · 2001-2002
- A Hundred AlarmsThree Mile Island Unit 2 · 1979
- The Light That Stayed DarkUnited Airlines Flight 173 · 1978
- Ten Cents, Crossed OutShane Frederick · 2003–2005
- Loaded DiceBirte Englich, Thomas Mussweiler and Fritz Strack · 2006
- Ninety Live, Ten DieBarbara McNeil, Stephen Pauker, Harold Sox and Amos Tversky · 1982
- Two Years on the BlackboardDaniel Kahneman · 1970s
- Filed Under RoadsCity of Edinburgh Council and its tram company, tie · 2004-2023
- The Match That Was Never PlayedWest Midlands Police · 2025–2026
- Doubts RetainedUK government · 1964-1976
- Walk Out the DoorIntel · 1985
- Fifty Judges, One FileJudges of the Second Circuit and the Federal Judicial Center · 1974
- Absolutely ConfidentFBI Laboratory · 2004–2006
- The Relay That Did Its JobOntario Hydro, Consolidated Edison and the power systems of the US Northeast · 1965–1968
- Mark for DeletionAtlassian · 2022
- Principal Is Going to WashCitibank · August 2020 to September 2022
- Prove It Isn't SafeNASA and Morton Thiokol · January 1986
- Futile SlaughterTrafford Leigh-Mallory and Dwight Eisenhower · 1944
- Seven Minutes in the StraitUSS Vincennes and Iran Air Flight 655 · July 3, 1988
- Second and Goal at the OnePete Carroll and the Seattle Seahawks · 2015
- Four Problems at OncePalatine Police Department, Illinois · January 1993
- The Side ProjectNupedia, Wikipedia, Larry Sanger and Jimmy Wales · 2000–2002
- A Red Team With One DayThe CIA, the Department of Energy and the U.S. Intelligence Community · 2001–2004
- The Memo After the MeetingJohn F. Kennedy and his advisers · 1961–1962
- The Road to AbileneJerry B. Harvey and his in-laws · A July Sunday, published 1974
- Refloat the FleetUS Joint Forces Command · 2002
5Strategy & Innovation20 stories
- Shooting Orville DownWarren Buffett, Berkshire Hathaway · 1989–2020
- Take Off the LegsIKEA · 1952–1958
- Twenty-Six Dollars a LoomWarren Buffett, Berkshire Hathaway · 1985-1986
- Ten Minutes at the GateSouthwest Airlines · 1972–1996
- Six Months to LiveNvidia · 1995-1998
- Three Strategies, One SentenceDigital Equipment Corporation · 1992–1998
- Three DVD Cases HighNintendo · 2006
- Time for a Product RecallTerry Hill and Roy Westbrook · 1997
- The Dog That PaidJ. Scott Armstrong and Roderick Brodie · 1985–1994
- Face Cream from a Film FactoryFujifilm · 2000–2012
- The Lawyer Who Sold the MillsKimberly-Clark (Darwin E. Smith) · 1971 to 1991, as told by Jim Collins in 2001
- Eight Months LeftPixar · from 1996, as told by Ed Catmull in 2008
- Out by ChristmasJames Stockdale · 1965–1973
- Four and a Half YearsWalgreens (Charles R. "Cork" Walgreen III) · until 1988, as Dan Jorndt told it to Jim Collins
- Thirty Percent Off at the BottomAmazon · 2001–2002
- The Camera Nobody Was Told AboutKodak · 1975–2012
- Fifty Million DollarsNetflix and Blockbuster · September 2000 to September 2010
- The Recorder That Couldn't RecordSony · 1978–1979
- A Hundred Names on the Boot ScreenXiaomi · 2010–2018
- The Video Everyone LovedBarack Obama's 2008 presidential campaign · 2007–2008
6Organization Design & Governance20 stories
- The Line Nobody Wanted to Stand OnFord Motor Company · 1913–1915
- After the HammerHaier · 1985–2018
- The DisorgGoogle · 2001–2002
- No One to Report ToBuurtzorg Nederland · 2007–2015
- Approximately SquareNASA, Apollo 13 · April 1970
- Organized by Function, with Dotted LinesMicrosoft · 2013
- Four Commanders, No Agreed PlanU.S. Department of Defense · 1980–1986
- Communication Is TerribleAmazon · early 2000s–2019
- A Hundred People or SoSpotify · 2012–2020
- Past 150Quartz · 2015–2016
- Item SixAmazon · 2002–2006
- Not ProvedMelvin Conway · 1967–2008
- The Tenth Pull RequestSpotify · 2016–2021
- Three Minutes in the Singapore StraitUS Navy destroyer John S McCain · 2017
- The Box That Never Saw the New FlightAriane 5 programme (ESA and CNES) · 1996
- Rule OneThe White House and CMS · 2013–2014
- The House the Agent Didn't RushReal estate agents in suburban Chicago · 1992–2002
- The Shopkeeper Who Gave Away TungstenAnthropic · 2025
- A Decision Has Been MadeTyco International and its CEO, L. Dennis Kozlowski · 2000–2002
- The Eighth ServerKnight Capital · 2012
7Leadership & Delegation8 stories
- Where to StandMichael Jordan, Birmingham Barons · 1994
- Day NineReplit · 2025
- We Didn't Test at AppleRon Johnson, J.C. Penney · 2011–2013
- Who Is Working for Whom?William Oncken Jr. and Donald L. Wass (Harvard Business Review) · published 1974, reissued 1999
- Fix First, Explain LaterEthan Bernstein, a mobile-device factory in southern China · 2008–2012
- Because You Told Me ToL. David Marquet, USS Santa Fe (US Navy) · 1999–2001
- No Captain Can Do Very WrongHoratio Nelson, Royal Navy · September–October 1805
- Sit in My ChairL. David Marquet, USS Santa Fe (US Navy) · 1999 to 2001 (told in 2012 and 2025)
8Motivation13 stories
- The Shape Maslow Never DrewCharles McDermid, Abraham Maslow · 1943 to 1960
- Who Is Motivated, I or the Dog?Frederick Herzberg · published 1968
- A Dollar a PuzzleEdward Deci · published 1971
- The Good Player AwardMark Lepper, David Greene, Richard Nisbett; Bing Nursery School, Stanford · published 1973
- A Fine Is a PriceTen daycare centers in Haifa · 1998
- Paid to Say NoBruno Frey and Felix Oberholzer-Gee · 1993
- Ladies and Gentlemen of the JuryDaniel H. Pink · 2009
- A Grape Next DoorSarah Brosnan and Frans de Waal (Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Emory University) · published 2003
- The Car Plant With No ConveyorVolvo, Pehr Gyllenhammar · 1971–1994
- A Week-Old BugTeresa Amabile (Harvard Business School) and Steven Kramer · published 2011
- Wishing to Be Somewhere ElseMihaly Csikszentmihalyi and Judith LeFevre (University of Chicago) · published 1989
- The Super-StaffAlfred Oberlander, Metropolitan Life Insurance Company (Rockaway district office) · 1961 to 1963
- Told to Expect MoreIsrael Defense Forces, Dov Eden · 1982–2000
9Talent16 stories
- How Many Golf BallsLaszlo Bock, Google · 2013 to 2015
- Twenty-Five Dollars an HourMatt Mullenweg, Automattic · 2005 to 2014 (told in 2014)
- Answers by the AlphabetJason Dana, Robyn Dawes and Nathanial Peterson (Carnegie Mellon and Yale) · 2013
- The CEO Most of the Board Never MetHewlett-Packard, Léo Apotheker · 2010–2011
- New People Hiring New PeopleAmazon · 1999–2024
- Not Selling JeansBilly Beane and the Oakland Athletics · 2002
- One Accent, Two TapesRichard Nisbett and Timothy Wilson (University of Michigan) · 1977
- But I Wore the JuiceMcArthur Wheeler; David Dunning and Justin Kruger · 1995, published 1999
- The Best Seller Gets the JobAlan Benson, Danielle Li and Kelly Shue (sales data from 131 US firms) · 2005–2011, published 2019
- At Least Three Key EventsCenter for Creative Leadership (Morgan McCall, Michael Lombardo and Ann Morrison) · 1981–1988
- Is That Really Where You Want It?Atul Gawande, surgeon and writer · 2011
- We Want Team CloseBest Buy · 2003–2004
- Happier NowNetflix · 2001–2009
- There Will Be No Additional RulesNordstrom · 1989–1993
- Two Great, Seven Mediocre, One TerribleMicrosoft · 2000–2013
- Front Page, Next MorningAdobe, Donna Morris · 2012–2014
10Communication & Feedback11 stories
- Every Third WordKim Scott and Sheryl Sandberg at Google · 2000s
- Why Didn't You Tell Me?Kim Scott · told by Scott in 2015 and 2016
- You Must Be SmartClaudia Mueller and Carol Dweck, Columbia University · published 1998
- The Problem Was the ThinkingBarbara Minto, McKinsey & Company · 1963–1973
- Study HallAmazon · 2004
- Any Colour Will DoPoul-Henning Kamp, FreeBSD · 1999
- The Flag and the TanksAnwar Sadat, Menachem Begin and Jimmy Carter · 1978–1982
- Hours Into the TrialApple, Qualcomm and Intel · April 2019
- Sixty Million Dollars a SiteDelegates to the Third UN Conference on the Law of the Sea, and an MIT team led by J. D. Nyhart · 1976–1994
- Six Hours at the DoorChris Voss, then head of the FBI's New York City Crisis Negotiation Team · Undated in Voss's account (published 2016)
- Three Songs in 120Elizabeth Newton, Stanford University · 1990
11Teamwork16 stories
- The Strike That Wasn'tSkylab 4 crew (Gerald Carr, Edward Gibson, William Pogue) and NASA Mission Control · 1973–1974
- The Bus With the Curtains DrawnFrance national football team · June 2010
- Two Million Dollars Nobody Would SpendSears Holdings (Eddie Lampert) · 2008–2013
- The Sign Was in the Wrong DirectionAmy Edmondson, eight hospital nursing units · published 1996
- Same Kind of PeopleJulia Rozovsky, Yale School of Management · from 2009 (business school at Yale)
- The Who Didn't Seem to MatterGoogle · 2012–2016
- The First Trip TogetherUS Airways Flight 1549 (Captain Chesley Sullenberger, First Officer Jeffrey Skiles) · January 15, 2009
- The Fuel That WorkedX, the moonshot lab formerly called Google X (Project Foghorn, led by Kathy Hannun) · 2013 to 2016
- The Tired Crews Flew BetterNASA Ames Research Center · 1986–1994
- What the New Coaches Wanted to KnowRuth Wageman · 1990s–2001
- Pulling with NobodyRingelmann; Ingham and colleagues; Latané, Williams and Harkins · 1880s to 1979
- A Seizure on the IntercomJohn Darley (New York University) and Bibb Latané (Columbia University) · published 1968
- No Ten-Second ManJapan and United States men's 4x100m relay teams · 2016
- The Clever Company That Finished LastMeredith Belbin and Henley Management College · 1970s
- Two Rooms, Half a Picture EachFirstEnergy (its Ohio control room and IT support staff) · August 14, 2003
- The Factor of 4.45NASA JPL and Lockheed Martin Astronautics · 1998–1999
12Projects & Execution17 stories
- Political SuicideDuPont's Engineering Department, with Remington Rand UNIVAC · 1956–1959
- The Joint Between Two FirmsHyatt Regency Kansas City · 1979–1988
- Fitting the Plan to the DateTSB Bank · 2015–2018
- The Question on the Way OutIBM (Fred Brooks) · 1960s
- The Chief ProgrammerIBM and The New York Times Information Bank · 1969–1972
- Off the ShelfUS Air Force, Expeditionary Combat Support System (ECSS) · 2004–2014
- Seven Jets Instead of TwelveWarner Robins Air Logistics Center (US Air Force) · 2004–2006
- After the Phones ClosedHM Revenue and Customs · 2026
- Agile at a Thousand PeopleUK Department for Work and Pensions, Universal Credit · 2010–2014
- The Startup in the BasementFederal Bureau of Investigation (Sentinel case management system) · 2006–2014
- Nobody Said StopNASA Mission Control (Gene Kranz) · 1967
- Airborne UnderwearDenver International Airport · 1990–1995
- There Are NoneRAF No. 11 Group, Uxbridge · 1940
- Twelve SlotsMicrosoft IT (XIT Sustained Engineering) · 2004–2005
- When It's Done3D Realms · 1997–2009
- A Voucher for a Meal and a DrinkBerlin Brandenburg Airport · 2006–2020
- One DirectionApple · 1997–1998
13Operations & Quality19 stories
- All the Chemo WaitingA large public hospital in New Zealand · around 2007
- The Last Step Before the PenNovo Nordisk · 2021–2025
- The Obligation to Stop the LineNUMMI (General Motors and Toyota) · 1982–2000
- Aren't You Ashamed?Virginia Mason Medical Center, Seattle · 2002–2012
- The Lights at the Lincoln MemorialUS National Park Service · 1989–1990
- The Replacement PhoneSamsung Electronics · 2016–2017
- The Line He Drew HimselfDave Brailsford, British Cycling and Team Sky · 2010–2018
- A Small Number of ServersAmazon Web Services · 2017
- Five QueuesPublic clinics in South Africa's North West Province · 2016
- Famous Last WordsJohn D. C. Little · 1957–1961
- Every Machine at OnceCrowdStrike · 2024
- Marshmallow on TopPeter Skillman and Tom Wujec · up to 2010
- Sixteen FormsHarold Shipman's practice, Hyde · 1998–2008
- Call It Eight MetersJR West (West Japan Railway) · 2005
- Hang Onto ItAmerican Airlines Flight 587 · 2001
- Five Steps Everyone KnewPeter Pronovost and Michigan's intensive care units · 2001–2006
- Too Much AirplaneBoeing and the US Army Air Corps · 1935
- The Empty BucketGitLab · 2017
- The Warning That Stayed Inside One AirlineTWA, United Airlines, the FAA and NASA · 1974–1976
14Culture & Change14 stories
- A Transfer of PainCardiac surgery teams at 16 hospitals (Edmondson, Bohmer and Pisano study) · late 1990s
- Move the Data Points to the RightNokia · 2005–2013
- Not in Sight?Korean Air Flight 801 · 1997–2002
- Too Much Too FastProcter & Gamble · 1999–2000
- Every Flight, by the Next DayJapan Airlines, Kazuo Inamori · 2010–2012
- Two Clean TrainsNew York City Transit Authority, David Gunn · 1984–1991
- Kidneys, Brains and HeartsKurt Lewin's field staff, State University of Iowa · 1943
- A Bottle on Every BedUniversity of Geneva Hospitals, Didier Pittet · 1994–1998
- Twenty-Nine Other RoomsTunbridge Wells Hospital (NHS) · 2011–2013
- Three Hours on the New SystemHealthTexas Provider Network (Baylor Health Care System) · 2006–2009
- Glass Goes to WorkGoogle · 2012–2023
- One Report, Two PrefacesFukushima Nuclear Accident Independent Investigation Commission (NAIIC), National Diet of Japan · 2011–2012
- The Limit That Kept MovingCredit Suisse · 2019–2021
- "Oh God, Let's Stop It"Stanley Milgram, Yale University · published 1963
15The AI Era32 stories
- Four Minutes Over the AtlanticAir France · 2009
- The Backup DriverUber · 2018
- Four Letters on the ScreenAsiana Airlines Flight 214 · 2013
- Hit by Lightning Five TimesPost Office Ltd · 2000–2024
- Is Varghese a Real Case?Levidow, Levidow & Oberman · 2023
- Order After OrderMcDonald's · 2019–2024
- The Calls Kept ComingCommonwealth Bank of Australia · 2025
- The Gore on Highway 101Tesla · 2018
- The Days the AI Was OffFour endoscopy centres in Poland · 2021–2022
- Sand in the GearsDutch Tax and Customs Administration (Belastingdienst) · 2013–2021
- The World's Best Kept SecretDeloitte Australia · 2024–2025
- One Minute to DecideU.S. Army and Royal Air Force · 2003
- The Bot Said Ninety DaysAir Canada · 2022–2024
- Let's HackOpenAI · 2025
- Waiting for GOOpenAI · 2026
- A Range of PeopleGoogle · 2024
- Rated Like a ProductAmazon · 2014–2017
- The Engine ResignedPalisade Research · 2025
- Worth a Thousand WordsCruise (General Motors) · 2023–2024
- Thumbs UpOpenAI · 2025
- The Judge Who Never Read the StoryResearchers at UCL, Anthropic and others · 2024
- Fifty Helpers for a Simple QuestionAnthropic · 2025
- Less HeadsSalesforce · 2025–2026
- Full and Empty at OnceGoogle DeepMind · 2024–2025
- One Rock Per DayGoogle · 2024
- Say It BackBoston Children's Hospital and the I-PASS Study Group · 2009–2014
- Everyone Else on the CallArup · 2024
- That Can't Happen to GovernmentNew York City (MyCity) · 2023–2026
- The Letters DRMajesty Cruise Line · 1995
- When the Sellers Said YesZillow · 2021
- Fifteen ApplicantsWharton School researchers · 2015
- The Wrong Side of the WallBoston Consulting Group · 2023