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Latest Book Review: Black Box Thinking, by Matthew Syed

Writer's picture: Matthew JenkinsMatthew Jenkins

“Black box thinking” is not about creating a literal black box; rather it is about the willingness and tenacity to investigate the lessons that often exist when we fail, but that we rarely exploit. It is about creating systems and cultures that enable organisations to learn from errors, rather than being threatened by them.


Failure is rich in learning opportunities. Failure is a signpost, it reveals a feature of our world we hadn’t grasped fully and offers vital clues about how to update models, strategies and behaviours. Failure is a part of life and learning, any desire to avoid it ultimately leads to stagnation for success can only happen when we admit our mistakes, learn from them and create a climate where it is ‘safe’ to fail.


Learning from mistakes relies on two components; the right kind of system, one that harnesses errors as a means of driving progress; and a mindset that enables that system to flourish.


We learn not just by being correct but also by being wrong. When we fail we learn new things, able to push the boundaries and become more creative.

To spark imagination, we should not insulate ourselves from failure; rather we should engage with it.




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