Why We Still Suck
at Resilience

"For thirty years, I have observed similar patterns recur across teams and companies — drift between how we think systems work and how they actually behave, prevention erasing its own evidence, practices decaying into theater. Adrian Hornsby's book is the first I have read that names them, explains why they happen, and gives teams a shared vocabulary to discuss them without talking past each other. I recommend this book to engineers and leaders building the organizational capacity to adapt to surprising situations — and a resilience program durable enough to keep that capacity alive. After reading it, you will recognize unwanted patterns, know what contributes to them, and help your organization stop sucking at resilience."

"This book is the missing map to guide leaders and practitioners through modern operational challenges. Adrian grounds theory firmly in practice, putting words to everyday experiences that engineers and managers recognize but often can't articulate. He explores the full scope of resilience challenges: technical, organizational, and psychological. This is a must-read for anyone who cares about operational excellence."

"I can highly recommend this book. It has excellent structure, an easy to read writing style and the content really does live up to the title. The concept of "Work As Imagined" and "Work As Done" is a central theme which, when embraced, will fundamentally change the way you approach resilience."

"This book doesn't hand you a checklist. It reshapes how you look at complex systems and the organizations that run them. It makes you think and reflect more than it gives you answers. The real failures are rarely technical, they're communication, incentives, and leadership gaps, and Adrian captures that well. Recommended for engineering leaders, SREs, and anyone who senses their organization has stopped learning."