How the Principle of “Black Box Thinking” Can Help You Win at Life

A powerful mental tool learned from the winners.

What’s the similarity between the basketball player Michael Jordan and the inventor James Dyson? What links the Mercedes Formula One team with Google company? What’s the connection between them all and the aviation industry?

The answer lies in these two words: Black Box.

Back in high school, I used to attend the National Basketball League held in our city a few times. I enjoyed watching the sport, but I don’t consider myself a huge fan of basketball. I’m not very fond of the NBA. And of course, I’m not a basketball player either.

Therefore, when I finished watching The Last Dance: Michael Jordan documentary series last year, it left me wondering with more open-ended questions, such as:

What makes Jordan so exceptionally successful? What leads him and the Bulls to their hugely successful run on NBA championships, not just once or twice, but six times? How did he earn the NBA Most Valuable Player Award — again, not just once or twice, but six freaking times?

Of course, aside from his incredible hours of intense training, Jordan definitely has amazing basketball abilities, one can fairly say that he is the true GOAT of basketball.

But I’m sure there is a deeper aspect to his success. Something not so obvious that quietly led him to all of his unparalleled triumphs and accomplishments.

The Connection Between Michael Jordan and Other Winners in Life

When I tried to dig deeper into Jordan’s success, I discovered a “bizarre connection” between him and many other winners of any area in life.

Here is what I found: they are all black box thinkers.

Before you give me that confused look, let me give you a little background.

If you’re familiar with the Netflix movie Sully, you probably know Captain “Sully” Sullenberger. The movie is based on a true story from a real-life event that has become known as “The Miracle on the Hudson”.

In 2009, Captain Sullenberger was commanding US Airways Flight 1549 when both of the aircraft engines were struck by birds. He lacked the option to lower the plane safely — and decided to land the plane on the Hudson River.

As a result, 155 people on board escaped alive; with zero fatalities.

After the spectacular emergency water landing, Captain Sullenberger wrote:

“Everything we know in flight, every rule in the rulebook, every procedure we have, we know because someone died somewhere.”

No industry takes mistakes more seriously than airlines. Since David Warren came up with the idea of a device that would record flight data and other sounds in aircraft cockpits — that was later called a “black box” — in 1954, now, every airplane must have two black boxes on board, and with every accident, future flights will be safer.

This principle is an excellent mental tool that can apply to other areas of life. Matthew Syed, who dedicated an entire book to it, coined the term “Black Box Thinking”.

What is Black Box Thinking?

As you can see, black box thinking is inspired by the aviation industry.

However, Matthew Syed explained in his book that black box thinking is not just about aviation or sports. In fact, it also has powerful implications for personal development, business, politics, as well as for parents and students. It works for all of us and in any sphere of life.

To understand how it works, we can break it down in two main mindsets.

Mindset #1: Befriend with Failures — and Take Advantage of Them

Let’s go back to Michael Jordan. In his basketball career, Jordan has missed over 9,000 shots, lost almost 300 games, and was entrusted to take the game-winning shot 26 times — and missed. He has failed repeatedly in life.

But what did he do? He rose to his feet, faced up to his failures, and returned to the game with a much more burning desire to win.

Jordan thinks like a black box; he sees failures and mistakes as the very best way to learn. And that’s what makes him a winner. That’s what makes him a legend.

What about the other “winners” I mentioned in the very beginning of this article? Same mindset, different stories.

James Dyson is a designer and inventor. He made 5,127 prototypes of vacuum before he got it right. There were 5,126 failures. All his failures now have created him a $3 billion vacuum empire.

Next, The Mercedes Formula One team made mistakes more often than not in their racing history. Yet, their mistakes add up to an environment where better cars are built and better practices are perfected.

And Google? If you haven’t been living under a rock, you must’ve known Google is a colossal success. But did you know Google fails 36% of the time? They have canceled 90 of their products. There were also 8 major flops and 14 major successes, and 36% of Google’s high-profile products are failures.

Rather than denying mistakes, blaming others, or attempting to spin their way out of trouble, black box thinkers interrogate errors as part of their future strategy for success. They take advantage of failures for something greater.

Mindset #2: Face Up to Your Mistakes — and Embrace Them

According to research, more people die from mistakes made by doctors and hospitals each year than from car accidents.

Hundreds of thousands of patients die from preventable medical errors due to a chronic lack of black box thinking. These errors contribute substantially to healthcare costs; they can cost you your health — and your life.

I know learning from mistakes has the status of cliche, but dare to ask yourself: Are you sure you have a healthy relationship with your mistakes?

Everyone makes mistakes. But not everyone learns from them.

Whether in developing a new product, honing a skill, or just trying to get a critical decision right, being a black box thinker means we aren’t afraid to face up to mistakes. Instead, we embrace them and reflect on them. As to how John Dewey put it:

“We do not learn from experience; we learn from reflecting on experience.” — John Dewey

Build Your Own Black Box

I think black box thinking is a principle that goes unspoken, but it’s tacitly understood by most of us, especially if we’ve already developed a growth mindset.

Now, we just have to add a simple yet powerful strategy to train our minds to think like a black box.

Here are some benefits you can gain by being a black box thinker:

• It changes your attitude towards failure
• It shapes your mind to embrace mistakes and continuously learn from them
• It helps you discover your purpose by always trying and learning things
• It trains you to cultivate the drive for an insatiable curiosity for marginal gains
• It develops creative breakthroughs and walks your way to the top

So build your own black box. Whenever you make a big decision, write what’s on your mind — assumptions, thought lines, conclusions. If the decision turns out to be pointless, look at your “black box” (no need to make it impact resistant; a journal or logbook will do just fine) and analyze exactly what caused the error.

Do this for a “safer” future decision. Do this for a better you. Because if you don’t, I’m afraid it might leave you with two options, as Rolf Dobelli put it:

“If you can’t identify your mistake, you either don’t understand the world, or you don’t understand yourself.”

— Rolf Dobelli

Takeaway

What does it mean to win at life? It means to live your dream life. Whether it’s being a multimillionaire, becoming your own boss, or having a happy family — it means to succeed at your set goals and be truly happy with where you finally wind up.

On our journey to becoming a winner in life, we will fail. Maybe once, twice, or 5.127 times. But it doesn’t matter. True success lies in understanding mistakes and overcoming failures.

Being a “black box thinker” means you won’t stop learning from anything. Notice how I say anything, not just something. Hence, if you apply this principle, it can help you win at life — by any means you want.

Finally, let’s end this article with an inspiring quote from Michael Jordan, the winner, the man of a legend himself:

“I can accept failure, everyone fails at something. But I can’t accept not trying. I’ve failed over and over again in my life, and that is why I succeed.” — Michael Jordan