Black Box Thinking

Failures, mistakes and problems are part of every contractor’s business.

D. Brown Management Profile Picture
Share

They are part of everyone’s day.  What separates out high-performing teams is a relentless focus on learning from these problems then creating systems and training to mitigate them in the future.  

Talent Development Tools: Root Cause Analysis and Improvements. Quote: Ego is about who's right. Truth is about what's right. Mike Maples Jr. Book: Black Box Thinking by Matthew Syed.

Low-performers look for “Who” did something wrong.

Low-performers put quick fixes in place and move on.

Low-performers avoid talking about failures, problems and mistakes openly.  


High-performers view every failure, problem or mistake as an opportunity to learn. 

High-performers ask lots of questions to identify the root cause of what happened.

High-performers then make plans to adjust for the next cycle.  

High-performers raise up the whole team by creating new standards, processes and training when they find a better way.  


Black Box Thinking was recommended to me by Sujata Bhide and dives much deeper into this topic.  

We spend a lot of time with our clients helping their teams develop great skills at Root Cause Analysis + Improvements.  Never easy; always worth it.  

Learn more




Production Tracking - Lessons Learned
Look at productivity as a daily “Jar” where your objective is to pack as much “Earned Value” into it as possible. Look at your costs in three major categories and focus on tracking what matters the most.
Deliberately Building Your Perfect Life
What did you do today to improve your value-add and do more of what you love? The foundation of all sustainably growing contractors is a team with each person individually strong, sharing common values, and aligned around a common purpose.
Production Tracking - 5 Key Decisions
Implementing or refining a production tracking system in construction requires 5 key decisions. These decisions vary by project and task. They change as each project team evolves their approach towards productivity improvements.