Black Box Thinking: The Surprising Truth About Success
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- Create Date：2021-07-11 08:54:22
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：Matthew Syed
- ISBN：1473613809
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Summary
An eye-opening， Gladwellian look at the power of a positive attitude toward failure and its profound impact on our success in any field。
In the airline industry， failure is taken seriously。 Every aircraft is equipped with an almost indestructible black box。 When there is an accident， the box is opened， the data is analyzed， and the reason for the accident excavated。 This ensures that procedures are adapted so that the same mistake doesn’t happen again。 With this method， the industry has created an astonishing safety record。
For pilots working in a safety-critical industry， getting it wrong can have deadly consequences。 But most of us have a relationship with failure that impedes progress， halts innovation， and damages our lives。 We don’t acknowledge it or learn from it —though we often think we do。
Moving from anthropology to psychology and from history to complexity theory， Matthew Syed explains why even when we think we have 20/20 hindsight， our vision’s still fuzzy。 He offers a radical new idea: that the most important determinant of success in any field， whether sports， business， or life， is an acknowledgment of failure and a willingness to engage with it。 This is how we learn， progress and excel。 This approach explains everything from biological evolution and the efficiency of markets to the success of the Mercedes F1 team and the mindset of David Beckham。
Using a cornucopia of interviews， gripping stories， and sharp-edged science， Syed explores the intimate relationship between failure and success， and shows why we need to transport black box thinking into our own lives。 If we wish to unleash our potential， we must diagnose and break free of our failures。 Part manifesto for change， part intellectual adventure， this groundbreaking book reveals how to do both。
In the airline industry， failure is taken seriously。 Every aircraft is equipped with an almost indestructible black box。 When there is an accident， the box is opened， the data is analyzed， and the reason for the accident excavated。 This ensures that procedures are adapted so that the same mistake doesn’t happen again。 With this method， the industry has created an astonishing safety record。
For pilots working in a safety-critical industry， getting it wrong can have deadly consequences。 But most of us have a relationship with failure that impedes progress， halts innovation， and damages our lives。 We don’t acknowledge it or learn from it —though we often think we do。
Moving from anthropology to psychology and from history to complexity theory， Matthew Syed explains why even when we think we have 20/20 hindsight， our vision’s still fuzzy。 He offers a radical new idea: that the most important determinant of success in any field， whether sports， business， or life， is an acknowledgment of failure and a willingness to engage with it。 This is how we learn， progress and excel。 This approach explains everything from biological evolution and the efficiency of markets to the success of the Mercedes F1 team and the mindset of David Beckham。
Using a cornucopia of interviews， gripping stories， and sharp-edged science， Syed explores the intimate relationship between failure and success， and shows why we need to transport black box thinking into our own lives。 If we wish to unleash our potential， we must diagnose and break free of our failures。 Part manifesto for change， part intellectual adventure， this groundbreaking book reveals how to do both。
Reviews
Julia
，
"Cognitive dissonance occurs when mistakes are too threatening to admit to， so they are reframed or ignored。""The desire for perfection rests upon two fallacies。 The first resides in the miscalculation that you can create the optimal solution sitting in a bedroom or ivory tower and thinking things through rather than getting out into the real world and testing assumptions， thus finding their flaws。。。。 The second fallacy is the fear of failure。。。。 You spend so much time designing and strategizing "Cognitive dissonance occurs when mistakes are too threatening to admit to， so they are reframed or ignored。""The desire for perfection rests upon two fallacies。 The first resides in the miscalculation that you can create the optimal solution sitting in a bedroom or ivory tower and thinking things through rather than getting out into the real world and testing assumptions， thus finding their flaws。。。。 The second fallacy is the fear of failure。。。。 You spend so much time designing and strategizing that you don’t get a chance to fail at all， at least until it is too late。" 。。。more
Martin Allen
，
An interesting， thought-provoking read
Valentin
，
Eye-opening stories， and very helpful evidence-based research。I definitely recommend it to everyone willing to understand himself/herself better！
William Duckworth
，
This is a very interesting insight in to why we need to change our views on failure so that we can learn better。 The book is littered with examples through history and different industries where this approach has improved learning。
Liam Polkinghorne
，
Took two critical ideas from this book: （1） be willing to fail and learn from those failures methodically: it is critical to progress。 We have to change our attitude towards failure （2） Get on the field and play。 We believe we can think our way to the perfect solution and are scared of failure， but trial and error， testing assumptions， failing and adjusting will lead to better outcomes。 Black box thinking is the willingness and tenacity to investigate the lessons that often exist when we fail。 P Took two critical ideas from this book: （1） be willing to fail and learn from those failures methodically: it is critical to progress。 We have to change our attitude towards failure （2） Get on the field and play。 We believe we can think our way to the perfect solution and are scared of failure， but trial and error， testing assumptions， failing and adjusting will lead to better outcomes。 Black box thinking is the willingness and tenacity to investigate the lessons that often exist when we fail。 Probably should have been an article instead of a book！ The key concepts are explained with a lot of examples。Our initial reaction to failure is to conceal it to protect our ego， self-image and reputation with others。 This destroys our ability to learn from our mistakes。 This comes from our basic perspective that failure is profoundly negative。 We need to redefine our relationship with failure。 This will help to unleash creativity， resilience and progress。 Adopt open-loop vs closed loop （where failure doesn't lead to progress）。 Need to create an environment where it is safe to fail， by not punishing honest mistakes， and ensuring that the people in the organisation that decide whether a mistake is honest or not are respected and trusted。 Contrast the attitude towards failure in aviation vs healthcare。 Black box thinking is the willingness and tenacity to investigate the lessons that often exist when we fail。 Failures are inevitable because the world is complex and we will never fully understand its subtleties。 Failure is a signpost。 It reveals a feature of our world we hadn't grasped fully and offers vital clues about how to update our models， strategies and behaviours。 Failure is rich in learning opportunities for a simple reason: in many of its guises， it represents a violation of expectation。 Paradox of success: success if built on failure。 Everything we know in aviation， every rule in the rule book every procedure we have， we know because someone， somewhere died。 Lessons have been learned the hard way。 Moral failure to forget these lessons and have to re-learn them。 The 10，000 hour rule works when you have quick feedback。 Need to have a way to incorporate feedback。 Success is just the tip of the iceberg。 Beneath the surface is the mountain of necessary failure that makes the current success possible。 Learning from mistakes has 2 components: （1） a system to take advantage of the learning opportunities。 Basic structure is to have a mechanism to guide learning and self-correction。 （2） Culture/encouragement for people to share the information that enables it to flourish。 Healthcare has an unhelpful attitude towards failure。 Healthcare stigmatises fallibility， and there is little or no training in error management or error detection。 You can have the best procedures in the world， but they won't work unless you change attitudes towards error。 We cover up mistakes because of cognitive dissonance， an ingrained human trait。 Rather than changing our view， which is uncomfortable - we would have to admit to a mistake， or that we aren't as smart or capable as we think we are - we just re-frame the evidence to align with our existing view。 The bigger the threat to self-esteem， or the more to lose from a mistake， the further we'll go to avoid the challenge。 Blaming undermines the capacity to learn。 Blame is a suitable management strategy in a simple world。 But in a complex world， problems aren't usually from a lack of focus， but due to complexity。 Don't penalise honest mistakes。 Blame and increasing punishment reduces openness and people hide mistakes。 Results in lessons not being learned。 A good manager looks at what happened， why it happened and determines if anything can be changed to ensure it doesn't happen again。 Cognitive dissonance results in a closed loop。 Being intelligent doesn't make you immune to cognitive dissonance， in fact it may mean you are more adept at subtle manipulations in reframing to make others believe you didn't fail。 By protecting ideas from dissent， we deprive them of a valuable thing: the possibility of failure and the feedback mechanism of falsification。 We protect our own ideas from possible failure by cognitive dissonance。 Our memory is not as reliable as we think。 Memories are suggestible and subject to a range of biases。 By retrieving， editing and integrating disparate memories， we have imagined an entirely new act。 Memory is malleable。 Narrative fallacies arise inevitably from our continuous attempt to make sense of the world。 The explanatory stores that people find compelling are simple， are concrete， rather than abstract; assign a larger role to talent， stupidity， and intentions than to luck; and focus on a few striking events that happened rather than on the countless events that failed to happen。 Any recent salient event is a candidate to become the kernel of a causal narrative。 How does acknowledging failure reconcile with the need for having conviction in your ideas。 It is a balancing act: you need to have the courage of your convictions， but also the humility to test early and to adapt rapidly。 Get on the field and play！ Ceramics class study: divided into two groups。 The first group told they would be judged on quantity， the second judged on quality of their best piece。 The work of the highest quality was produced by the quantity group。 The quantity group were churning out work and learning from their mistakes; the quality group sat and theorised about perfection。 Need to embrace failure to make both small gains and revolutionary innovations。 Iteration is vital。 Creativity is not an innate gift。 It comes from failure and re-working and improving ideas。 Need to adopt a growth mindset and realise failure is indispensable for success。 David Beckham， Michael Jordan， James Dyson: their countless failures drove progress。 Embrace a willingness to try， fail and learn。 The growth mindset believes that progress is driven in large part by practice （not intelligence）， they naturally regard failure as an inevitable aspect of learning。 Grit by Angela Duckworth: willingness to persevere through failure is a key determinant of who makes it through West Point Academy。 Common misconception of the growth mindset that they will persevere at a futile task for too long。 The truth is quite the reverse。 Those with a growth mindset are more capable of making a rational decision to quit。 It allows students to give up without shame or fear that they are revealing a deep and abiding deficiency。 As business leaders， parents， coaches， we have to transform this notion of failure。 We have to conceptualise it not as dirty and embarrassing， but as bracing and educative。 This is the notion we need to instil in our children: that failure is a part of life and learning， and that the desire to avoid iit leads to stagnation。 We should praise each other for trying， for experimenting， for demonstrating resilience and resolve， for daring to learn through our own critical investigations， and for having the intellectual courage to see evidence for what it is rather than what we want it to be。 。。。more
Wilte
，
Well written book （good mix of academic papers and anecdotes） on the power of learning from failure。 The black box refers to the black box in an airplane， which is used to learn from mistakes。 With the rise of AI， black box has a different connotation。Notes:Black Box Thinking: The Surprising Truth About Success （Syed， Matthew）- Your Highlight on page 8 | Location 155-156 | Added on Monday， June 7， 2021 5:39:58 PMthe explanation for success hinges， in powerful and often counter-intuitive ways， on Well written book （good mix of academic papers and anecdotes） on the power of learning from failure。 The black box refers to the black box in an airplane， which is used to learn from mistakes。 With the rise of AI， black box has a different connotation。Notes:Black Box Thinking: The Surprising Truth About Success （Syed， Matthew）- Your Highlight on page 8 | Location 155-156 | Added on Monday， June 7， 2021 5:39:58 PMthe explanation for success hinges， in powerful and often counter-intuitive ways， on how we react to failure。 Failure is==========Black Box Thinking: The Surprising Truth About Success （Syed， Matthew）- Your Highlight on page 12 | Location 229-230 | Added on Monday， June 7， 2021 5:42:45 PMA progressive attitude to failure turns out to be a cornerstone of success for any institution。==========Black Box Thinking: The Surprising Truth About Success （Syed， Matthew）- Your Highlight on page 15 | Location 280-282 | Added on Monday， June 7， 2021 5:44:57 PMfor our purposes a closed loop is where failure doesn’t lead to progress because information on errors and weaknesses is misinterpreted or ignored; an open loop does lead to progress because the feedback is rationally acted upon）。==========Black Box Thinking: The Surprising Truth About Success （Syed， Matthew）- Your Highlight on page 26 | Location 478-481 | Added on Monday， June 7， 2021 5:54:16 PMWe have already seen that in healthcare， the culture is one of evasion。 Accidents are described as ‘one-offs’ or ‘one of those things’。 Doctors say: ‘we did the best we could’。 This is the most common response to failure in the world today。 In aviation， things are radically different: learning from failure is hardwired into the system。==========Black Box Thinking: The Surprising Truth About Success （Syed， Matthew）- Your Highlight on page 27 | Location 490-491 | Added on Monday， June 7， 2021 5:54:40 PMAs Eleanor Roosevelt put it: ‘Learn from the mistakes of others。 You can’t live long enough to make them all yourself。’==========Black Box Thinking: The Surprising Truth About Success （Syed， Matthew）- Your Highlight on page 32 | Location 572-573 | Added on Monday， June 7， 2021 5:59:44 PMThe mnemonic which has been used to improve the assertiveness of junior members of the crew in aviation is called P。A。C。E。 （Probe， Alert， Challenge， Emergency）。==========Black Box Thinking: The Surprising Truth About Success （Syed， Matthew）- Your Highlight on page 32 | Location 576-577 | Added on Monday， June 7， 2021 6:00:02 PMThe checklists have been established as a means of preventing oversights in the face of complexity。 But they also flatten the hierarchy。==========Black Box Thinking: The Surprising Truth About Success （Syed， Matthew）- Your Highlight on page 33 | Location 588-589 | Added on Monday， June 7， 2021 8:57:46 PMIt is about creating systems and cultures that enable organisations to learn from errors， rather than being threatened by them。==========Black Box Thinking: The Surprising Truth About Success （Syed， Matthew）- Your Highlight on page 33 | Location 586-586 | Added on Monday， June 7， 2021 8:57:55 PM‘black box thinking’。==========Black Box Thinking: The Surprising Truth About Success （Syed， Matthew）- Your Highlight on page 44 | Location 764-766 | Added on Monday， June 7， 2021 9:11:18 PMEverything we know in aviation， every rule in the rule book， every procedure we have， we know because someone somewhere died 。 。 。 We have purchased at great cost， lessons literally bought with blood that we have to preserve as institutional knowledge and pass on to succeeding generations。 We cannot have the moral failure of forgetting these lessons and have to relearn them。==========Black Box Thinking: The Surprising Truth About Success （Syed， Matthew）- Your Highlight on page 44 | Location 769-770 | Added on Monday， June 7， 2021 9:15:30 PMThe idea that the successful safety record in aviation has emerged from the rubble of real-world accidents is vivid， paradoxical and profound。==========Black Box Thinking: The Surprising Truth About Success （Syed， Matthew）- Your Highlight on page 58 | Location 1011-1012 | Added on Monday， June 7， 2021 9:49:14 PMFailure is inevitable in a complex world。 This is precisely why learning from mistakes is so imperative。==========Black Box Thinking: The Surprising Truth About Success （Syed， Matthew）- Your Highlight on page 63 | Location 1111-1112 | Added on Monday， June 7， 2021 9:53:52 PMhealthcare by its nature is highly error-provoking – yet health carers stigmatise fallibility and have had little or no training in error management or error detection。’==========Black Box Thinking: The Surprising Truth About Success （Syed， Matthew）- Your Highlight on page 129 | Location 2200-2201 | Added on Thursday， June 10， 2021 11:48:34 AMis illegal in the UK to even conduct a study on how juries go about their deliberations。==========Black Box Thinking: The Surprising Truth About Success （Syed， Matthew）- Your Highlight on page 129 | Location 2200-2202 | Added on Thursday， June 10， 2021 11:49:08 AMIt is illegal in the UK to even conduct a study on how juries go about their deliberations。 The unstated rationale for this prohibition is that if the public find out how juries operate， they might lose confidence in the system。 It is an ‘ignorance is bliss’ approach。==========Black Box Thinking: The Surprising Truth About Success （Syed， Matthew）- Your Highlight on page 136 | Location 2267-2269 | Added on Thursday， June 10， 2021 11:52:44 AMProgress had been delivered not through a beautifully constructed masterplan （there was no plan）， but by rapid interaction with the world。 A single， outstanding nozzle was discovered as a consequence of testing， and discarding， 449 failures。==========Black Box Thinking: The Surprising Truth About Success （Syed， Matthew）- Your Highlight on page 137 | Location 2276-2278 | Added on Thursday， June 10， 2021 11:53:11 AMCognitive dissonance occurs when mistakes are too threatening to admit to， so they are reframed or ignored。 This can be thought of as the internal fear of failure: how we struggle to admit mistakes to ourselves。==========Black Box Thinking: The Surprising Truth About Success （Syed， Matthew）- Your Highlight on page 140 | Location 2323-2325 | Added on Thursday， June 10， 2021 2:11:38 PMDifferent companies competing with each other， with some failing and some surviving， facilitate the adaptation of the system。 This is why markets – provided they are well regulated – are such efficient solvers of problems: they create an ongoing process of trial and error。==========Black Box Thinking: The Surprising Truth About Success （Syed， Matthew）- Your Highlight on page 141 | Location 2344-2346 | Added on Thursday， June 10， 2021 2:13:02 PMThat is not to say that markets are perfect。 There are problems of monopoly， collusion， inequality， price-fixing and companies that are too big to fail， and are therefore protected by a taxpayer guarantee。 All these things militate against the adaptive process。 But the underlying point remains: markets work not in spite of the many business failures that occur， but because of them。==========Black Box Thinking: The Surprising Truth About Success （Syed， Matthew）- Your Highlight on page 196 | Location 3244-3245 | Added on Sunday， June 13， 2021 9:58:50 PMThe basic proposition of this book is that we have an allergic attitude to failure。==========Black Box Thinking: The Surprising Truth About Success （Syed， Matthew）- Your Highlight on page 196 | Location 3247-3248 | Added on Sunday， June 13， 2021 9:59:11 PMEvery error， every flaw， every failure， however small， is a marginal gain in disguise。 This information is regarded not as a threat but as an opportunity。==========Black Box Thinking: The Surprising Truth About Success （Syed， Matthew）- Your Highlight on page 235 | Location 3876-3877 | Added on Monday， June 14， 2021 9:12:47 PMZvi Lanir， a decision-researcher whose influential article ‘The Reasonable Choice of Disaster’， published in the Journal of Strategic Studies， must rate as among the most gripping academic papers ever written。==========Black Box Thinking: The Surprising Truth About Success （Syed， Matthew）- Your Highlight on page 242 | Location 3987-3988 | Added on Monday， June 14， 2021 11:13:30 PMIt was only when professionals believed that reports on errors and near-misses would be treated as learning opportunities rather than a pretext to blame that this crucial information started to flow。==========Black Box Thinking: The Surprising Truth About Success （Syed， Matthew）- Your Highlight on page 246 | Location 4061-4062 | Added on Monday， June 14， 2021 11:18:25 PMblame undermines the information vital for meaningful adaptation。 It obscures the complexity of our world， deluding us into thinking we understand our environment when we should be learning from it。==========Black Box Thinking: The Surprising Truth About Success （Syed， Matthew）- Your Highlight on page 249 | Location 4101-4105 | Added on Friday， June 18， 2021 3:00:34 PMOvercoming the blame tendency is a defining issue in the corporate world。 Ben Dattner， a psychologist and organisational consultant， tells of an experience when he was working at the Republic National Bank of New York。 He noticed a piece of paper that a co-worker had stapled to his cubicle wall。 It read: ‘The six phases of a project: 1。 Enthusiasm 2。 Disillusionment 3。 Panic 4。 Search for the guilty 5。 Punishment of the innocent 6。 Rewards for the uninvolved。’ Dattner writes: ‘I have yet to come across a more accurate description of how most dramas play out in our working lives。’==========Black Box Thinking: The Surprising Truth About Success （Syed， Matthew）- Your Highlight on page 254 | Location 4191-4192 | Added on Friday， June 18， 2021 3:05:27 PMtrying to increase discipline and accountability in the absence of a just culture has precisely the opposite effect。 It destroys morale， increases defensiveness and drives vital information deep underground。==========Black Box Thinking: The Surprising Truth About Success （Syed， Matthew）- Your Highlight on page 282 | Location 4623-4623 | Added on Saturday， June 19， 2021 9:35:19 PMwe progress fastest when we face up to failure – and learn from it。==========Black Box Thinking: The Surprising Truth About Success （Syed， Matthew）- Your Highlight on page 296 | Location 4855-4857 | Added on Sunday， June 20， 2021 10:14:38 AMAs the philosopher Bryan Magee put it: ‘It spelt the end of the dogmatic tradition of passing on an unsullied truth， and the beginning of a new rational tradition of subjecting speculations to critical discussion。 It was the inauguration of scientific method。 Error was turned from disaster to advantage。’==========Black Box Thinking: The Surprising Truth About Success （Syed， Matthew）- Your Highlight on page 303 | Location 4978-4980 | Added on Sunday， June 20， 2021 11:23:02 AMFree markets are successful， in large part because of their capacity to clock up thousands of useful failures。 Centrally planned economies are ineffective， on the other hand， because they lack this capacity。 。。。more
Martin
，
Even if it was an interesting read， I have actually not found there a lot of new concepts there。 On the other hand， there were some use cases and events I was not aware about。Few notes:- As Eleanor Roosevelt put it: ‘Learn from the mistakes of others。 You can’t live long enough to make them all yourself。’- Progress in most human activities depends， in large part， on our willingness to learn from failure。 If we edit out failure， if we reframe our mistakes， we are effectively destroying one of the Even if it was an interesting read， I have actually not found there a lot of new concepts there。 On the other hand， there were some use cases and events I was not aware about。Few notes:- As Eleanor Roosevelt put it: ‘Learn from the mistakes of others。 You can’t live long enough to make them all yourself。’- Progress in most human activities depends， in large part， on our willingness to learn from failure。 If we edit out failure， if we reframe our mistakes， we are effectively destroying one of the most precious learning opportunities that exists。- Failure is simply the opportunity to begin again， this time more intelligently 。。。more
Assour Ali
，
A MUST read for all and any out there。 I was blown away and did a youtube episode about it。 Its a life-changing experience and I encourage with the strongest affirmation to read。It goes as thus: observe， admit， improve。 Admit， go ahead in tiny steps。 practice and improve。 Admit mistakes and step thereof towards every good goal you ever dreamed of。
Douglas
，
Will maybe write a review of this excellent book later， but three ideas for future use:1） Failure week - exactly what its name suggests。 Celebrate the value of failing with students。2） The pre-mortem - So you have an idea/assignment/whatever。 Imagine it is several weeks/months from now， and it's all gone badly。 What went wrong？ Speculate what would be the most likely source of problems， and adjust accordingly。3） Brainstorming with only positive suggestions generates many fewer ideas than brainst Will maybe write a review of this excellent book later， but three ideas for future use:1） Failure week - exactly what its name suggests。 Celebrate the value of failing with students。2） The pre-mortem - So you have an idea/assignment/whatever。 Imagine it is several weeks/months from now， and it's all gone badly。 What went wrong？ Speculate what would be the most likely source of problems， and adjust accordingly。3） Brainstorming with only positive suggestions generates many fewer ideas than brainstorming with criticism 。。。more
David Steele
，
Clever book。 I’ve applied a lot of this to my day-job。 Everyone can learn from taking a forensic approach to the things they get wrong。 This book shows you how， with lots of real-world examples to make sense of the “why”。
Marcela
，
Kind of all over the place。 It started off using examples from aviation and medicine but then started talking about crime and didn't feel coherent。 Rushed through to the end。 Kind of all over the place。 It started off using examples from aviation and medicine but then started talking about crime and didn't feel coherent。 Rushed through to the end。 。。。more
Troy
，
Great Book！
Nic Ayson
，
。
David Macdonald
，
I was going through a number of changes in business when I heard this book recommended through an interview by Tim Ferris with Daniel Ek， CEO of Spotify。 I read it and re-thought all of the issues I was facing in business and has made my approach so more positive and productive。 Highly recommended for not just the message but the stories of industries like aviation and medicine and how “black box thinking” （or not） helps （or hinders） development and improvements。
Mark Eichin
，
If you generally read "systems" and "how things fail" sorts of books。。。 you're probably going to read this anyway， go for it， it's a good instance of the genre。If you are new to this space or only expect to read one book of this sort。。。 read Atul Gawande's "Checklist Manifesto" first - it's more focused and intense。However， if you want more， or more breadth。。。 Black Box Thinking covers a broad space with spikes of deep research - air disasters， in terms of *how* an entire industry moved in the r If you generally read "systems" and "how things fail" sorts of books。。。 you're probably going to read this anyway， go for it， it's a good instance of the genre。If you are new to this space or only expect to read one book of this sort。。。 read Atul Gawande's "Checklist Manifesto" first - it's more focused and intense。However， if you want more， or more breadth。。。 Black Box Thinking covers a broad space with spikes of deep research - air disasters， in terms of *how* an entire industry moved in the right direction （but isn't perfect）; hospital disasters， in terms of an industry that really needs to move a lot harder in this direction （it has some shining stars。。。 but more painful failures， too）; and the mindsets that are valuable （and necessary） to learn from failure， at the individual and organizational level。 In particular it shows the importance of imbuing the *culture* of the organization with the idea that failures are the best chances to learn， otherwise individuals will just be crushed by efforts that look no further than blame。Do be warned that by the nature of the work， there is a lot of death - and through the skill and attentiveness of the author， it's extraordinarily *personal*。 Not a criticism， it is not sensationalism on the author's part - but some of it hits pretty hard。 。。。more
☁
，
*review to come*
Rick
，
Excellent book。 Applies the principles of learning from one’s mistakes to many different fields （medicine， aviation， IT）。
Rodrigo Polacco
，
O livro lança a luz da importância olhar para o erro como forma de aprendizagem e demonstra que a incapacidade de olhar para os erros deixa acaba atrasando a evolução e eficiência das empresas e profissionais。
Sarthak
，
Brilliant。 A very well put together argument for focusing on our mistakes and learning from these。 Showing repeatedly how， from one industry to another， we deliberately design systems and processes to mask mistakes than embrace these， counterintuitively。 The fallacy of the existing practices has been brought out with lucid examples。 It compels you to think on how systems should/ could be changed for the better， in the environment / ecosystem that you live in。
Suphan Fayong
，
This book might be too verbose for its concepts。 Basically， you need to learn from failures。 To do this successfully， you have to change people's mindset （including yours） to regard a failure as an opportunity to learn， rather than embarrassment。 You also need a system or a structure in place to support this kind of learning in an organization。I think the first half of the book （Chapter 1 - 8） is more scientifically sound than the latter half。 At near the end of first half， the author talks abou This book might be too verbose for its concepts。 Basically， you need to learn from failures。 To do this successfully， you have to change people's mindset （including yours） to regard a failure as an opportunity to learn， rather than embarrassment。 You also need a system or a structure in place to support this kind of learning in an organization。I think the first half of the book （Chapter 1 - 8） is more scientifically sound than the latter half。 At near the end of first half， the author talks about randomized controlled trial （RCT）， which statistically remove bias， specifically narrative fallacy。 Ironically， I believe the latter half sometimes contains narrative fallacy itself， especially the section of how to come up with innovation。 。。。more
Al Zaquan
，
Very strong central ideas， but illustrated and told through the usual "quick and phenomenal" success stories that you find other airport bookstore reads （Apple， Pixar， Dyson etc。）。 Strong key message with lots of value， regardless of the rote and unimaginative presentation。 Very strong central ideas， but illustrated and told through the usual "quick and phenomenal" success stories that you find other airport bookstore reads （Apple， Pixar， Dyson etc。）。 Strong key message with lots of value， regardless of the rote and unimaginative presentation。 。。。more
Alex Go
，
The book has interesting points on learning from failure and not playing the blame game， but it could have been much more succinct。 I especially enjoyed the examples in the Healthcare and Criminal Justice spaces。 Syed gave great insights into the structures that propagate blame instead of learning。
Luca Nicoletti
，
We should all learn from aviators。 Why？ Because they're open to learning from their mistakes。Tons of millions of dollars are lost due to errors covered or ignored， blaming people （wrongly） just because it's easier to do so rather than rolling up your sleeve and get better， learning from errors， step by step， with small iterations。 We should all learn from aviators。 Why？ Because they're open to learning from their mistakes。Tons of millions of dollars are lost due to errors covered or ignored， blaming people （wrongly） just because it's easier to do so rather than rolling up your sleeve and get better， learning from errors， step by step， with small iterations。 。。。more
Guilherme Noronha
，
7/10
Asem Mayas
，
نتاج تجارب حيه تم تدوينها من قبل الكاتب ، منها الملهم ومنها الحزين ومنها ماهو موجود في واقعنا الحاضر والماضي ٫ الدروس المستفادة من هذا الكتاب يمكن اختصارها من وجهة نظري في بعض النقاط الأتيه: الحياة مستمرة مهما حصل سواء بوجود هذه التجارب او بغيرها سواء بوجود اشخاص في حياتنا او بعدم وجودهم。 التجارب التي حصلت لبعض الاشخاص ليس لها مكان في حياة البعض ولكن من الممكن ان تحصل لأشخاص اخرين。 تسجيل وتدوين الاخطاء والاعتراف بها ماهو الا حافز للتعلم وهو شي مهم جدا في حياتنا لكي نستفيد منها。 ما تقوم به بعض ال نتاج تجارب حيه تم تدوينها من قبل الكاتب ، منها الملهم ومنها الحزين ومنها ماهو موجود في واقعنا الحاضر والماضي ٫ الدروس المستفادة من هذا الكتاب يمكن اختصارها من وجهة نظري في بعض النقاط الأتيه: الحياة مستمرة مهما حصل سواء بوجود هذه التجارب او بغيرها سواء بوجود اشخاص في حياتنا او بعدم وجودهم。 التجارب التي حصلت لبعض الاشخاص ليس لها مكان في حياة البعض ولكن من الممكن ان تحصل لأشخاص اخرين。 تسجيل وتدوين الاخطاء والاعتراف بها ماهو الا حافز للتعلم وهو شي مهم جدا في حياتنا لكي نستفيد منها。 ما تقوم به بعض المنظمات والمؤسسات من تجاهل تام للأخطاء او عدم الأعتراف بها ماهو الا اعتراف تام بفشلها في تقديم ماهو مطلوب منها خاص المؤسسات التعليمية والمستشفيات لانها عمود مهم في حياة الاشخاص واذا ماتم تجاهل او هضم هذي الاخطاء فأن تأثيرها كبيره جدا وكارثي في نفس الوقت。 الخوف من اتخاذ الخطوات والاحترازات ماهو الا دلاله على فشل في التربية والتعليم وهو شيء ذميم من الممكن ان الا يجعلنا نؤمن ببعض。 التغيير واتخاذ القرارات الصائبه هو العمود الأساسي في جميع المؤسسات المدنية والحكومية。 。。。more
Muralidharan S
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Very， very absorbing book with a new way of looking at mistakes。 Reminds one of ‘The law of wasted effort。 This sums up as “Success is not to have a life free of pitfalls and falls。。。but success is to walk over your mistakes and go beyond every stage where your efforts were wasted， looking forward to the next stage。”It was a little dragging towards the end， methinks！
Sophie
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Really great book。 What I wanted Mindset by Carol Dweck to be but much better。Each section had a clear conclusion backed up with interesting anecdotes and trials and critical thought。 Good for anyone with any real interest in data
Onnica
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Thought-provoking and very accessible。 The case studies were from very different sectors but had very strong arguments and showed just how dangerous cognitive dissonance can be！
Christine Joy
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I think everyone should read this。 So that everyone would know that failures is not a sign to stop trying; that mistakes happen that we should forget about it and never to be spoken of; and even if you are a professional， an expert on your field， you can still fail or make mistakes。
Jo G
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