Black Box Thinking

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 * DAVE BRAILSFORD, GENERAL MANAGER, TEAM SKY *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 * JAMES DYSON, DESIGNER, INVENTOR & ENTREPRENEUR *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 * DANIEL PINK, AUTHOR OF DRIVE & TO SELL IS HUMAN *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 * HOWARD JACOBSON, WINNER OF THE MAN BOOKER PRIZE *

Matthew Syed is one of the UK’s most influential thinkers on mindset, performance, and culture. A former Olympic table tennis player turned award-winning journalist and bestselling author, his seven books - including Black Box Thinking, Rebel Ideas, and the groundbreaking You Are Awesome series for children - have sold over two million copies worldwide, been translated into more than 30 languages, and earned widespread acclaim for their accessible insight and compelling storytelling.

A sought-after speaker and founder of Matthew Syed Consulting, he advises leading organisations - from global businesses to national sports teams - on building high-performance cultures. He also presents BBC Radio 4’s Sideways, which has been downloaded over 15 million times, and writes for The Times and The Sunday Times. He has featured on top podcasts including The Diary of a CEO and High Performance. With a unique blend of sporting excellence, psychological insight, and sharp journalistic storytelling, Syed continues to challenge conventional thinking and inspire change across sectors.

Matthew Syed is one of the UK’s most influential thinkers on mindset, performance, and culture. A former Olympic table tennis player turned award-winning journalist and bestselling author, his seven books - including Black Box Thinking, Rebel Ideas, and the groundbreaking You Are Awesome series for children - have sold over two million copies worldwide, been translated into more than 30 languages, and earned widespread acclaim for their accessible insight and compelling storytelling.

A sought-after speaker and founder of Matthew Syed Consulting, he advises leading organisations - from global businesses to national sports teams - on building high-performance cultures. He also presents BBC Radio 4’s Sideways, which has been downloaded over 15 million times, and writes for The Times and The Sunday Times. He has featured on top podcasts including The Diary of a CEO and High Performance. With a unique blend of sporting excellence, psychological insight, and sharp journalistic storytelling, Syed continues to challenge conventional thinking and inspire change across sectors.