Posted by Mindy Tulsi-Ingram on 6th Jun 2023
June Newsletter - Summer Adventures
In Matthew Syed’s book, “Black Box
Thinking” he talks about why most people never learn from their mistakes
- but some do. 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.
My experiences blend perfectly with Black Box Thinking, the book I was reading while on vacation in the beautiful Mark Warner Resort in Paleros,Greece. It was a perfect family vacation and a celebration of Aaron’s graduation.
The setting was picturesque, the staff at the resort great - attentive, caring and brilliant at what they do. There were skilled staff to teach you whatever you wanted to learn, from tennis to sailing to rowing to water skiing to biking to yoga and aqua fitness. Swim at the pools or in the ocean. Bask in the sun and explore the beautiful beaches or ride a bike on mountainous terrain or to town. Or take time out to adventure off to explore the towns and city. And of course, indulge in an afternoon siesta with a lovely afternoon nap like the locals. Is is a paradise that awaits anyone seeking peace and quiet or adventure
I took the opportunity to try a few new activities, like sailing, rowing and water skiing. I was terrified and anxious about each of these. Being in a rowboat is completely different from a rowing machine and you are out at sea alone and navigating. The first day was of course stressful but Matt the instructor was brilliant, and the lesson was great despite me veering off to Timbuktu. However, I went on to try a few more morning rows in the calm ocean and enjoyed the magnificent view and beautiful water.
However, Zissis, the instructor was super calm and provided step by step process of how to get ready and take off. Of course, I failed on the first couple of tries and Zissis broke down the steps and made me practice the position a few times on the boat, the trust in his eyes gave me renewed hope and courage to give it another shot and sure enough I did it.
Syed shares that “Failure is not inherently bad; it sets the stage for new ideas”. By breaking a big problem into smaller parts, it is easier to cut through the narrative fallacies. You fail more, but you learn more". Sure, I fell off the skis even right after take off a couple of times, but eventually I did take off and had a marvellous time and overcame my fears and gained confidence.
Small steps and giant leaps – Matthew Syed shares the story of Sir David Brailsford, a British cycling coach, who improved every tiny thing by 1 per cent and went on the win 5 Tour de France victories in 6 years from a drought of 110 years. Brailsford’s approach comes from the idea that if you break down a big goal into small parts, and then improve on each of them by just 1% you will gain a huge increase when you put them all together.
“During the ten-year span from 2007 to 2017, British cyclists won 178 world championships and 66 Olympic or Paralympic gold medals and captured 5 Tour de France victories in what is widely regarded as the most successful run in cycling history.”
“Meanwhile, improving by 1 percent isn’t particularly notable—sometimes it isn’t even noticeable—but it can be far more meaningful, especially in the long run. The difference a tiny improvement can make over time is astounding. "
This article is an excerpt from Atomic Habits, James Clear’s New York Times bestselling book.
By “searching for a tiny margin of improvement in everything you do” you can make a big difference. And by expanding the black box idea into our workplace, Syed encourages us to “create a culture where mistakes are not reframed or suppressed but wielded as a means of driving progress”. He also talks about pre-mortem, an opportunity to find errors and mistakes. "Errors are indispensable to the process of discovery.”
A pre-mortem, or premortem, is a managerial strategy in which a project team imagines that a project or organization has failed, and then works backward to determine what potentially could lead to the failure of the project or organization.
Matthew Syed's focus is on learning from past mistakes, omitting repetitive errors and welcoming such an approach in our lives. Failure is an opportunity to learn from mistakes; failure provides learning.
Summer
Equinox, when the sun reaches its highest point in the sky, marks our
official start of summer. It's a time of longer days, warmer weather,
and plenty of opportunities for outdoor adventures and trying new
things.
It also marks the half year of 2023 and an opportunity to review your
year ahead. Take the time to look back and consider your goals and
aspirations you had at the beginning of the year. You can identify areas
where you excelled and determine which areas you may want to focus your
efforts in the future. Also, it’s a great time to reflect on our goals,
accomplishments, and past experiences, and think about what lies ahead.
Try New Things: Exploring new activities and experiences can be
incredibly rewarding and help us grow as individuals. My adventures in
Greece are living proof of the pride and exhilaration you can get from
trying and mastering new things.
Happy exploring, trying new things, and making the most of the second half of the year!
All the Best,
