Black Swans

Nassim Nicholas Taleb, author of the excellent "The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable" (a must- read if you're at all interested in why banks and finance houses were institutionally incapable of stopping the financial melt down we're all experiencing) has written an article with some guidelines for avoiding similar situations.

Ten Principles of a Black Swan-Proof World (opens as a PDF)

I particularly like number 3, People who were driving a school bus blindfolded (and crashed it) should never be given a new bus; and number 4, don't let someone making an "incentive" bonus manage a nuclear plant

For more of his observations visit Nassim Nicholas Taleb