The 737 Max and the CSCU Board of Regents Biases at the top can lead to disasters for the organization For more than 15 years I have taught a graduate course where students perform formal failure analysis of senior management decisions. We study disasters such as the Wells Fargo fraud, Equifax data breach, GM faulty ignition switch, Morandi bridge failure, Vale mining disaster, defective Takata airbags, and the Boeing 737 Max. Over the years we have studied some 70 disasters, all of which prove to be very costly to the organization and its stakeholders in lives, money, and reputation. As you might expect, ominous patterns emerge in senior management thinking and decision-making. All cases feature several untested beliefs and assumptions that prove to be critical factors in failed leadership decision-making. There is an abundance of illogical thinking, the top six being abuse of expertise, false assumptions, avoiding the force of reason, red herring, special pleading, and expediency. Recurring cognitive biases include status quo, estimating, anchoring, sunk cost, and confirming evidence. In general, senior managers critical thinking skills are poor, sometimes to the point of being dangerous.