Black Box Thinking: Why Most People Never Learn from Their Mistakes—But Some Do
(Adobe EPUB eBook, Kindle Book, OverDrive Read)

Book Cover
Average Rating
Published:
Penguin Publishing Group 2015
Format:
Adobe EPUB eBook, Kindle Book, OverDrive Read
ISBN:
9780698408876
Status:
Available from OverDrive
Description
Nobody wants to fail. But in highly complex organizations, success can happen only when we confront our mistakes, learn from our own version of a black box, and create a climate where it’s safe to fail.
 
We all have to endure failure from time to time, whether it’s underperforming at a job interview, flunking an exam, or losing a pickup basketball game. But for people working in safety-critical industries, getting it wrong can have deadly consequences. Consider the shocking fact that preventable medical error is the third-biggest killer in the United States, causing more than 400,000 deaths every year. More people die from mistakes made by doctors and hospitals than from traffic accidents. And most of those mistakes are never made public, because of malpractice settlements with nondisclosure clauses.
For a dramatically different approach to failure, look at aviation. Every passenger aircraft in the world is equipped with an almost indestructible black box. Whenever there’s any sort of mishap, major or minor, the box is opened, the data is analyzed, and experts figure out exactly what went wrong. Then the facts are published and procedures are changed, so that the same mistakes won’t happen again. By applying this method in recent decades, the industry has created an astonishingly good safety record.
Few of us put lives at risk in our daily work as surgeons and pilots do, but we all have a strong interest in avoiding predictable and preventable errors. So why don’t we all embrace the aviation approach to failure rather than the health-care approach? As Matthew Syed shows in this eye-opening book, the answer is rooted in human psychology and organizational culture.
Syed argues that the most important determinant of success in any field is an acknowledgment of failure and a willingness to engage with it. Yet most of us are stuck in a relationship with failure that impedes progress, halts innovation, and damages our careers and personal lives. We rarely acknowledge or learn from failure—even though we often claim the opposite. We think we have 20/20 hindsight, but our vision is usually fuzzy.
Syed draws on a wide range of sources—from anthropology and psychology to history and complexity theory—to explore the subtle but predictable patterns of human error and our defensive responses to error. He also shares fascinating stories of individuals and organizations that have successfully embraced a black box approach to improvement, such as David Beckham, the Mercedes F1 team, and Dropbox.
Also in This Series
Formats
Adobe EPUB eBook
Works on all eReaders (except Kindles), desktop computers and mobile devices with reading apps installed.
Kindle Book
Works on Kindles and devices with a Kindle app installed.
OverDrive Read
Need Help?
If you are having problem transferring a title to your device, please fill out this support form or visit the library so we can help you to use our eBooks and eAudio Books.
More Like This
Other Editions and Formats
More Copies In Prospector
Loading Prospector Copies...
More Details
Street Date:
11/03/2015
Language:
English
ASIN:
B00SI0B8XC
Reviews from GoodReads
Loading GoodReads Reviews.
Citations
APA Citation (style guide)

Matthew Syed. (2015). Black Box Thinking: Why Most People Never Learn from Their Mistakes—But Some Do. Penguin Publishing Group.

Chicago / Turabian - Author Date Citation (style guide)

Matthew Syed. 2015. Black Box Thinking: Why Most People Never Learn From Their Mistakes—But Some Do. Penguin Publishing Group.

Chicago / Turabian - Humanities Citation (style guide)

Matthew Syed, Black Box Thinking: Why Most People Never Learn From Their Mistakes—But Some Do. Penguin Publishing Group, 2015.

MLA Citation (style guide)

Matthew Syed. Black Box Thinking: Why Most People Never Learn From Their Mistakes—But Some Do. Penguin Publishing Group, 2015.

Note! Citation formats are based on standards as of July 2022. Citations contain only title, author, edition, publisher, and year published. Citations should be used as a guideline and should be double checked for accuracy.
Copy Details
LibraryOwnedAvailable
Shared Digital Collection11
Grand County Library District00
Staff View
Grouped Work ID:
032ec018-c1f9-c7b7-220c-bbaf31830a38
Go To Grouped Work
Needs Update?:
No
Date Added:
Jun 08, 2017 15:53:32
Date Updated:
Sep 01, 2023 07:06:30
Last Metadata Check:
Mar 25, 2024 18:31:21
Last Metadata Change:
Mar 25, 2024 18:31:21
Last Availability Check:
Mar 25, 2024 18:31:29
Last Availability Change:
Jan 24, 2024 10:44:00
Last Grouped Work Modification Time:
Mar 27, 2024 21:06:23

OverDrive Product Record

images
    • cover:
        • href: https://img1.od-cdn.com/ImageType-100/1523-1/{3D424063-F4A2-422B-B5A6-1DF22253BB0D}Img100.jpg
        • type: image/jpeg
    • thumbnail:
        • href: https://img1.od-cdn.com/ImageType-200/1523-1/{3D424063-F4A2-422B-B5A6-1DF22253BB0D}Img200.jpg
        • type: image/jpeg
    • cover150Wide:
        • href: https://img1.od-cdn.com/ImageType-150/1523-1/3D4/240/63/{3D424063-F4A2-422B-B5A6-1DF22253BB0D}Img150.jpg
        • type: image/jpeg
    • cover300Wide:
        • href: https://img1.od-cdn.com/ImageType-400/1523-1/3D4/240/63/{3D424063-F4A2-422B-B5A6-1DF22253BB0D}Img400.jpg
        • type: image/jpeg
formats
      • identifiers:
            • type: ISBN
            • value: 9780698408876
      • name: Adobe EPUB eBook
      • id: ebook-epub-adobe
      • identifiers:
            • type: ASIN
            • value: B00SI0B8XC
      • name: Kindle Book
      • id: ebook-kindle
      • identifiers:
            • type: ISBN
            • value: 9780698408876
      • name: OverDrive Read
      • id: ebook-overdrive
otherFormatIdentifiers
      • type: ISBN
      • value: 9781591848226
mediaType
eBook
primaryCreator
    • role: Author
    • name: Matthew Syed
isOwnedByCollections
True
title
Black Box Thinking
dateAdded
2017-06-08T23:46:00Z
contentDetails
      • href: https://link.overdrive.com?websiteID=162&titleID=2102178
      • type: text/html
      • account:
          • name: Marmot Library Network (CO)
          • id: 1201
sortTitle
Black Box Thinking Why Most People Never Learn from Their MistakesBut Some Do
crossRefId
2102178
subtitle
Why Most People Never Learn from Their Mistakes—But Some Do
id
3D424063-F4A2-422B-B5A6-1DF22253BB0D
starRating
4.7

OverDrive MetaData

isPublicDomain
False
formats
      • fileName: BlackBoxThinking_9780698408876_2102178
      • partCount: 0
      • fileSize: 1611978
      • identifiers:
            • type: ISBN
            • value: 9780698408876
      • rights:
            • type: Copying
            • value: 0
            • type: Printing
            • value: 0
            • type: Lending
            • value: 0
            • type: ReadAloud
            • value: 0
            • type: ExpirationRights
            • value: 0
      • name: Adobe EPUB eBook
      • isReadAlong: False
      • id: ebook-epub-adobe
      • onSaleDate: 11/3/2015
      • samples:
            • source: From the book
            • formatType: ebook-overdrive
            • url: https://samples.overdrive.com/?crid=3d424063-f4a2-422b-b5a6-1df22253bb0d&.epub-sample.overdrive.com
      • fileName: BlackBoxThinking_2102178
      • partCount: 0
      • fileSize: 0
      • identifiers:
            • type: ASIN
            • value: B00SI0B8XC
      • name: Kindle Book
      • isReadAlong: False
      • id: ebook-kindle
      • onSaleDate: 11/3/2015
      • samples:
            • source: From the book
            • formatType: ebook-overdrive
            • url: https://samples.overdrive.com/?crid=3d424063-f4a2-422b-b5a6-1df22253bb0d&.epub-sample.overdrive.com
      • fileName: BlackBoxThinking_9780698408876_2102178
      • partCount: 0
      • fileSize: 1611985
      • identifiers:
            • type: ISBN
            • value: 9780698408876
      • name: OverDrive Read
      • isReadAlong: False
      • id: ebook-overdrive
      • onSaleDate: 11/3/2015
      • samples:
            • source: From the book
            • formatType: ebook-overdrive
            • url: https://samples.overdrive.com/?crid=3d424063-f4a2-422b-b5a6-1df22253bb0d&.epub-sample.overdrive.com
keywords
      • value: business plan
      • value: mindset
      • value: Business
      • value: money
      • value: Performance
      • value: organization
      • value: Success
      • value: behavior
      • value: Entrepreneurship
      • value: Competitive Strategy
      • value: psychology
      • value: management
      • value: self help
      • value: communication
      • value: failure
      • value: self help books
      • value: Leadership
      • value: motivation
      • value: High Performance
      • value: time management
      • value: behavioral psychology
      • value: career growth
      • value: motivational books
      • value: business books
      • value: growth mindset
      • value: success books
      • value: management books
      • value: psychology books
      • value: self improvement books
      • value: motivational books for women
      • value: motivational books for men
      • value: self development books
      • value: high output management
creators
      • role: Author
      • fileAs: Syed , Matthew
      • name: Matthew Syed
imprint
Portfolio
publishDate
2015-11-03T00:00:00-05:00
isOwnedByCollections
True
title
Black Box Thinking
fullDescription
Nobody wants to fail. But in highly complex organizations, success can happen only when we confront our mistakes, learn from our own version of a black box, and create a climate where it’s safe to fail.
 
We all have to endure failure from time to time, whether it’s underperforming at a job interview, flunking an exam, or losing a pickup basketball game. But for people working in safety-critical industries, getting it wrong can have deadly consequences. Consider the shocking fact that preventable medical error is the third-biggest killer in the United States, causing more than 400,000 deaths every year. More people die from mistakes made by doctors and hospitals than from traffic accidents. And most of those mistakes are never made public, because of malpractice settlements with nondisclosure clauses.
For a dramatically different approach to failure, look at aviation. Every passenger aircraft in the world is equipped with an almost indestructible black box. Whenever there’s any sort of mishap, major or minor, the box is opened, the data is analyzed, and experts figure out exactly what went wrong. Then the facts are published and procedures are changed, so that the same mistakes won’t happen again. By applying this method in recent decades, the industry has created an astonishingly good safety record.
Few of us put lives at risk in our daily work as surgeons and pilots do, but we all have a strong interest in avoiding predictable and preventable errors. So why don’t we all embrace the aviation approach to failure rather than the health-care approach? As Matthew Syed shows in this eye-opening book, the answer is rooted in human psychology and organizational culture.
Syed argues that the most important determinant of success in any field is an acknowledgment of failure and a willingness to engage with it. Yet most of us are stuck in a relationship with failure that impedes progress, halts innovation, and damages our careers and personal lives. We rarely acknowledge or learn from failure—even though we often claim the opposite. We think we have 20/20 hindsight, but our vision is usually fuzzy.
Syed draws on a wide range of sources—from anthropology and psychology to history and complexity theory—to explore the subtle but predictable patterns of human error and our defensive responses to error. He also shares fascinating stories of individuals and organizations that have successfully embraced a black box approach to improvement, such as David Beckham, the Mercedes F1 team, and Dropbox.
popularity
128
links
    • self:
        • href: https://api.overdrive.com/v1/collections/v1L1ByAAAAA2r/products/3d424063-f4a2-422b-b5a6-1df22253bb0d/metadata
        • type: application/vnd.overdrive.api+json
id
3d424063-f4a2-422b-b5a6-1df22253bb0d
starRating
4.7
images
    • cover:
        • href: https://img1.od-cdn.com/ImageType-100/1523-1/{3D424063-F4A2-422B-B5A6-1DF22253BB0D}Img100.jpg
        • type: image/jpeg
    • thumbnail:
        • href: https://img1.od-cdn.com/ImageType-200/1523-1/{3D424063-F4A2-422B-B5A6-1DF22253BB0D}Img200.jpg
        • type: image/jpeg
    • cover150Wide:
        • href: https://img1.od-cdn.com/ImageType-150/1523-1/3D4/240/63/{3D424063-F4A2-422B-B5A6-1DF22253BB0D}Img150.jpg
        • type: image/jpeg
    • cover300Wide:
        • href: https://img1.od-cdn.com/ImageType-400/1523-1/3D4/240/63/{3D424063-F4A2-422B-B5A6-1DF22253BB0D}Img400.jpg
        • type: image/jpeg
isPublicPerformanceAllowed
False
languages
      • code: en
      • name: English
subjects
      • value: Business
      • value: Nonfiction
      • value: Economics
publishDateText
11/03/2015
otherFormatIdentifiers
      • type: ISBN
      • value: 9781591848226
mediaType
eBook
shortDescription
Nobody wants to fail. But in highly complex organizations, success can happen only when we confront our mistakes, learn from our own version of a black box, and create a climate where it’s safe to fail.
 
We all have to endure failure from time to time, whether it’s underperforming at a job interview, flunking an exam, or losing a pickup basketball game. But for people working in safety-critical industries, getting it wrong can have deadly consequences. Consider the shocking fact that preventable medical error is the third-biggest killer in the United States, causing more than 400,000 deaths every year. More people die from mistakes made by doctors and hospitals than from traffic accidents. And most of those mistakes are never made public, because of malpractice settlements with nondisclosure clauses.
For a dramatically different approach to failure, look at aviation. Every passenger aircraft in the world is equipped with an almost...
sortTitle
Black Box Thinking Why Most People Never Learn from Their MistakesBut Some Do
crossRefId
2102178
subtitle
Why Most People Never Learn from Their Mistakes—But Some Do
publisher
Penguin Publishing Group
bisacCodes
      • code: BUS041000
      • description: Business & Economics / Management
      • code: BUS085000
      • description: Business & Economics / Organizational Behavior
      • code: BUS107000
      • description: Business & Economics / Personal Success