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Black Box Thinking

The Surprising Truth About Success

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Black Box Thinking

By: Matthew Syed
Narrated by: Simon Slater
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About this listen

Columnist for The Times and best-selling author of Bounce: The myth of talent and the power of practice Matthew Syed argues that the key to success is a positive attitude to failure.

What links the Mercedes Formula One team with Google? What links Dave Braisford's Team Sky and the aviation industry? What is the connection between the inventor James Dyson and the footballer David Beckham? 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 they 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.

Their lessons can be applied across every field - from sport to education, from business to health. Using gripping case studies, exclusive interviews and really practical takeaways, Matthew Syed - the award-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.

©2015 Matthew Syed (P)2015 Hodder & Stoughton
Leadership Personal Success Business Inspiring Aviation Soccer

What listeners say about Black Box Thinking

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AMAZING!

This book was recommended to me by a friend, and I was sceptical at first. But from the first chapter I mess hooked! The topics explored offered real food for thought and the whole book was very thought provoking. I would even go as far to say that every medical professional should read this book.

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Mind blowing and potentially life changing.

This book should be made compulsory reading for all medical, legal, legal and law enforcement professionals, and local and State Government managers etc.

The narrator had me so engaged that I often sat on my driveway, just listening to the last few minutes of a chapter.

The contents of this book are ood for thought; let's hope more digest it.

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Must listen.

An amazing book. Full of surprises. Really is a must listen and you will walk away feeling smarter for having read it.

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Perhaps the best non fiction book I've ever read

Gripped from the beginning and relevant throughout with brilliant examples. I'm already searching for the next great book that might be able to match this.

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Great book

Great book. Learning from failure.. Pretty simple but oh so powerful. Can't wait to give it a good try.

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Worth listening to

Loved the concepts although some stories were a bit too drawn out and I personally didn't like the ones related to criminal activity. Otherwise good read to make you think about learning from mistakes and not burying them

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thoroughly enjoyable

A thought provoking journey through failure... enjoyable and and a easy listen... well worth the time

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Already applying what I’ve learned.

I work in Governance for a large health organisation. Continual improvement is a large part of my portfolio. This book has really got me thinking about leading different attitudes around mistakes and failures, development of new methodologies around benchmark metrics and ensuring successful change management projects. I’m excited to learn more and implement some ideas stemming from this book. Definitely worth the read.

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Brilliant

a practical and insightful book about learning from mistakes.

a fantastic read, especially if you work in health care

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Anyone who makes decisions should know about Black Box thinking

This book has changed my approach to almost everything I do. The ideas, or rather, evidence presented is so compelling that it will make you look at how you make decisions and why. You will question the media and the noise of social media so that you can see through it.
Please open your mind to Black Box thinking.

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