A fascinating look at why we make mistakes, how we should see them as an opportunity to learn and improve, and why we (mostly) don’t. Many of us could learn some really useful lessons from reading this book.

I really enjoyed the examples in this book and the many stories of failure. It was a great way to learn and then utilize real life moments of people making a difference/change after a mistake.

I initially was interested in the book because I thought the “black box” is what the term means in electrical engineering, it turns out that it refers to the black box in airplanes.
Nonetheless, this is one of my favourite books I read this year. Although the topic seems very corny - it’s important to learn from failures, but the author is able to dissect this argument from so many angles all with case studies narrated in a really intriguing way. A lot of times I felt it was as a page turner as a fiction.

I am especially fond of the chapter on randomised control trial. It just opened my eyes about why sometimes data alone without context can be misleading.

Really enjoy this book! Highly recommended!

Very insightful and well-researched. A very informative and enjoyable read

This is a book I'll be coming back to over the years. Very enjoyable and as someone who is a manager and worked at startups, found a lot of the stories and advice very relatable. Glad I got the kindle edition so I could add a ton of highlights

Update in Feb 2023: while I recall my four star rating being because the book became a bit repetitive at the end, upgrading to five stars because of the power of its ideas. It's been two years since I read it, and yet hardly a week goes by where I don't find myself thinking of and applying its ideas. Few books have transformed and elevated my thinking so completely. It's the book that Dweck's Mindset aspired to be.

5/5

*******
Will maybe write a review of this excellent book later, but three ideas for future use:

1) Failure week - exactly what its name suggests. Celebrate the value of failing with students.

2) The pre-mortem - So you have an idea/assignment/whatever. Imagine it is several weeks/months from now, and it's all gone badly. What went wrong? Speculate what would be the most likely source of problems, and adjust accordingly.

3) Brainstorming with only positive suggestions generates many fewer ideas than brainstorming with criticism

I really enjoyed the core idea of this book and have gained a better understanding and appreciation for recognizing and learning from failure, however big or small. But I think this could've done with one or two fewer examples of reiterations as the message was repeated through various different ones quite a bit which seemed to drag in the last third or so. Putting that aside, Syed does provide clear examples and, more importantly, comparisons in how failure is approached in different scenarios and industries and how a more positive approach to failure, near misses, and everything else that doesn't meet the perfect expectation can be used to learn, grow, and just generally be better at whatever it is.

الاعتراف بالخطأ بداية التطور للأفضل، عندما لا تؤمن أنك مخطأ لن تتغير.

Some powerful messages and stories in here. It took a little to get started and the last section took me a long time too but still worth the investment. I need part two now that helps me establish these ideas in my classroom.