Catataxis and Disorders of Magnitude
John Brodie Donald is the author of two books Catataxis and Bolt from the Blue. This site explores the main themes in those two books through blog posts for readers who seek further material
An ex-Investment Banker, John now works as a management consultant and is based in Sevenoaks, Kent. He is a senior lecturer on the Security and Risk Management MBa Course (SRMC) run by the Frontier Risks Group. He is also an accredited mediator for Family and Commercial disputes.
Catataxis is the confusion between different levels; a misunderstanding of the difference between the micro and the macro. It comes from two Greek words. The first “kata” meaning down or through as in catastrophe or cataclysm. The second “taxis” meaning rank or level, as in taxonomy. So catataxis is a confusion or breakdown between hierarchical levels.
There are four maxims of Catataxis:
1. More of the same is different
2. Complexity requires simplicity
3. Order requires chaos
4. Categorisation destroys information
The Law of Large Numbers is a cornerstone of statistical science. It says that, while it is very hard to predict things on an individual basis, it is much easier to predict things on an aggregate basis once you have enough individuals in the group. The whole statistical toolbox of bell curves, averages and standard …
Continue reading “The law of large numbers and the meaning of life”
The problem of intangible assets In 1988 Nestle bought Rowntree, the UK confectionary company famous for its fruit gums and jelly babies. It paid £2.5 bn which was three times more than the market thought it was worth. Nestle then had a big problem with its accounts. Traditionally, accountants would only look at the value …
Fossils are not the whole story When you think of evolution what image first springs to mind? It’s probably a hall in the Natural History Museum filled with fossils. All the dinosaurs, trilobites, coelacanths and ammonites together make an awesome menagerie of extinct creatures. The stepping stones of evolution are laid out before you in …
A guide for every CEO faced with a disaster not of his own making, such as a regulatory intervention or a cyber attack. Donald and Pullen provide a strategic guide to a CEO who is facing potential armageddon. They explain why dealing with a regulatory intervention is not just a matter for lawyers and why you need the full spectrum of PR, shareholders, stakeholders and government all on side. This book spells out the lessons that can be learnt from the biggest regulatory disasters of the last 15 years. It explains what steps can be taken to get through a regulatory intervention and come out the other side with both reputation and company intact.
John Brodie Donald was born in London and spent his early life shuttling between the Far East and boarding schools in the UK.
He worked for 20 years as an Investment Banker in Asia and Europe with Phillips and Drew, Jardine Fleming and ING Barings. During this time he spent 7 years living in Japan and a further 7 in Hong Kong.
He left the financial services sector to run a Scotch Whisky company in 2004 and has since been involved in a variety of business ventures and startups in cyber security, business intelligence, internet platforms and alternative assets. He is the CEO of Quadrant Four Risk which is based in Sevenoaks, Kent and provides a variety of risk management services.
