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Black Box Thinking

Growth Mindset and the Secrets of High Performance

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About this listen

 10th ANNIVERSARY EDITION OF THE SUNDAY TIMES NO.1 BESTSELLER, with the preface read by Matthew Syed

'Will transform your entire perspective' THE TIMES

'A stirring call to revolutionise how we think about success' DANIEL PINK, author of DRIVE

'Brilliant' JAMES DYSON

What is the secret to success? Black Box Thinking.

Ten years on from its original publication, Black Box Thinking remains a game-changing manifesto for success.

In this updated edition - featuring brand new material from Matthew Syed - his bold thesis that failure, far from being something to fear, is the secret to innovation and improvement feels more urgent than ever.

Packed with gripping case studies, eye-opening research, and stories from elite sport, cutting-edge medicine, aviation, business, and beyond, Syed shows how the most progressive individuals and organizations treat mistakes not as threats, but as tools for growth.

This is a book for anyone striving to do better. It will change how you think about failure - and show you how to turn it into success.

'Highly persuasive' DAILY MAIL

'It highlights the need for a growth mindset in life' RICHARD BRANSON

'A book that dares us to do better' HOWARD JACOBSON©2015 Matthew Syed Leadership Management & Leadership Personal Development Personal Success Psychology Psychology & Mental Health Sports Psychology Inspiring Business Thought-Provoking Success Sports Management

Critic reviews

An extraordinary, inspirational book which reveals how great performers and teams are driven by an insatiable curiosity for marginal gains, together with the intellectual courage to challenge their most cherished assumptions
Creative breakthroughs always begin with multiple failures. This brilliant book shows how true invention lies in the understanding and overcoming of these failures, which we must learn to embrace
Matthew Syed has issued a stirring call to revolutionise how we think about success -- by changing our attitude to failure. Failure shouldn't be shameful and stigmatising, but exciting and enlightening. Full of well-crafted stories and keenly deployed scientific insights, BLACK BOX THINKING will forever change the way you think about screwing up
Retrieval was Matthew Syed's forte when he was England's number one table tennis player. You couldn't get anything past him. And retrieval is the subject of this extraordinarily wide-ranging book. Retrieval of hope, retrieval of experience - not just a true sportsman's determination to retrieve success from the lessons of failure, but a true humanitarian's too. A book that dares us to do better
All stars
Most relevant

What made the experience of listening to Black Box Thinking the most enjoyable?

After looking and listening to countless books to get a sense of direction - which mind you they tend to be full of jargon - i wasnt expecting this book to be in anyway good, heck i even came across it several times and rejected.. but decided to give a go and well i was suprised to say the least. I still feel it has quite a bit of examples and maybe a bit too much wording but at the end of each chapter i get what i want:

A concrete direction and solution to something - not just a formless cloudy idea that will make you more confused

What was one of the most memorable moments of Black Box Thinking?

Not sure about a particular moment but i will definetly go for the message:
build from past mistakes, be open and be modest (you need to know when to quit too) - think of life as it is - like a life form and evole like one

The one book

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Fascinating book, one of the best I've read on the subject of success.
Required reading for all.

What an eye opening book

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Opened my eyes into how my business is failing and ways to turn it around. Highly recommended.

Fascinating

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Ultimately, it's a book that talks about improving performance. While it has the theme of nurturing failure as a core to the story, the book touches upon many different and useful concepts and ideas.

The book is well written, using interesting examples to explain the ideas, but it does not rely solely on such anecdotes.

Having done an MBA, I can say that this book covers many of the most interesting aspects of the MBA course, in a condensed version.

A must read

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Excellent book, great insight into to the human mind. A great read for all those people stuck with procrastination, as Dyson says we must have a willingness to try, fail and learn.

Engaging & thoughtful

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