In his new book Black Box Thinking, award winning journalist and best-selling author Matthew Syed shares the surprising truth about success (and why some people never learn from their mistakes).
Covering topics including marginal gains, closed loops, blame culture, the logic of failure and creating a growth culture, Matthew uses gripping case studies, exclusive interviews and really practical takeaways to explain how you can turn failure into success.
Whether developing a new product, honing a core skill or just trying to get a critical decision right, Black Box Thinkers aren't afraid to face up to mistakes. In fact, Black Box Thinkers see failure as the very best way to learn. Rather than denying their mistakes, blaming others or attempting to spin their way out of trouble, these institutions and individuals interrogate errors as part of their future strategy for success.
This is a visual preview of Black Box Thinking. You can pick up a copy of the book at www.mathewsyed.com/blackboxthinking
28. The inability to face up to
where we are going wrong,
is the biggest single obstacle
to success.
Not merely for big institutions,
but for individuals.
29. But why is it
important to
avoid closed
loops?
31. There are around 400,000 fatalities
caused by preventable medical
error in the United States alone.
32. That is the equivalent of
two jumbo jets falling out
of the sky every day.
33. Medical mistakes are often
spun or denied, and lessons
are rarely learnt.
This is why deaths continue
to occur in the same way
over and over again.
34. And it is not just healthcare that falls
victim to closed loops.
35. A study by the University of Michigan estimates that if
prison sentences were reviewed with the same level of
care as death sentences, there would have been ‘over
28,500 exonerations in the past fifteen years’…
40. The fear of blame, is a
dangerous obstacle on
the road to success.
41. A report by Harvard Business
Review found that executives
believe that only 2 to 5 per cent
of failures in their organisations
were truly blameworthy…
42. … but when asked how many mistakes were
treated as blameworthy the number
was between 70 and 90 per cent.
43. This tendency to point
the finger and demand
retribution, even when a
colleague was doing his or
her best, obliterates the
sharing of information
that drives progress.
55. ‘Matthew Syed has issued a stirring call to revolutionise
how we think about success – by changing our attitude to
failure. Failure shouldn’t be shameful and stigmatising, but
exciting and enlightening. Full of well-crafted stories and
keenly deployed scientific insights, Black Box Thinking will
forever change the way you think about screwing up.’
DANIEL PINK, AUTHOR OF DRIVE & TO SELL IS HUMAN
56. ‘Creative breakthroughs always begin with multiple
failures. This brilliant book shows how true invention lies
in the understanding and overcoming of these failures,
which we must learn to embrace.’
JAMES DYSON, DESIGNER, INVENTOR & ENTREPRENEUR