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




Impacted Productivity - Highly variable Labor Scheduling (Level Your Schedule)
The biggest risk for a specialty contractor is the performance of on-site labor. One of the biggest impacts to labor productivity is having a schedule that requires large variations in labor.
Evaluation: Stage of Growth + State of Management Team & Systems
Management teams and systems develop through three phases at each stage of growth. Use these 7 steps to evaluate where your team is at.
4P Troubleshooting Undesirable Outcomes
When you are not getting the results you expect, start your troubleshooting process by looking at the People, Principles, Process, and Practice.