Black Box Thinking: The Surprising Truth About Success

What links the Mercedes Formula One team with Google?What is the connection between Dave Brailsford's Team Sky and the aviation industry?What links the inventor James Dyson and the basketball player Michael Jordan?They are all Black Box Thinkers.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.How many of us, hand on heart, can say that we have such a healthy relationship with failure?Learning from failure has the status of a cliché, but this book reveals the astonishing story behind the most powerful method of learning known to mankind, and reveals the arsenal of techniques wielded by some of the world's most innovative organizations. It also reveals the dangers of failing to learn from mistakes. In healthcare, hundreds of thousands of patients die from preventable medical errors every year due to a chronic lack of Black Box Thinking.Using gripping case studies, exclusive interviews and really practical takeaways, Matthew Syed – theaward-winning journalist and best-selling author of Bounce – explains how to turn failure into success, and shows us how we can all become better Black Box Thinkers.[author photo] Matthew Syed is a leading columnist and feature writer for The Times. He makes authored features for the BBC current affairs programme Newsnight and regularly appears on CNN International and World Service TV. Before becoming a writer Matthew was the England table tennis number one for almost a decade, three times Commonwealth Champion, and he twice represented Great Britain in the Olympic Games. Matthew Syed's first book, Bounce: The Myth of Talent and the Power of Practice, was shortlisted for the William Hill Sports Book of the Year and became a UK best-seller.