In this groundbreaking book, Tim Harford, the Undercover Economist, shows us a new and inspiring approach to solving the most pressing problems ... read full description
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Jun 07, 2011
Daniel
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"Adapt: Why Success Always Starts with Failure" by Tim Harford should never have developed into a book. Entertaining and inevitably true, success does and always starts with failure, but to continuously argue the point for 275 pages become cumbersome and tedious. To credit Harford's book, I did enjoy the first 100 pages, which should of stopped there. "Adapt: Why Success Always Starts with Failure" is a much more applicable essay/thesis than a book.
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Feb 09, 2012
Chris
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Some reviewers have admonished Tim Harford for repeating the same thesis over and over again & effectively turning a whole bunch of blog posts into a book. I disagree - the parameters of adaption change with context - frequency & diversity of variation, consequences of failure, cultural appetite for experimentation, etc. - so the book doesn't so much repeat but investigate the contextual nuances of a (not particularly groundbreaking but fascinating nonetheless) initial idea. And I think it does
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Dec 20, 2011
Adam
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Adapt has a clear and compelling thesis, and is strikingly well-written -- the two traits I seek most from non-fiction works.
My summary of the thesis: success in anything is best achieved through lightweight experimentation, copious failure (and the learning that goes with it), and a rigorous selection algorithm.
Stated this way, it sounds obvious, but this is the opposite of how most for-profit companies, governments, and individuals behave in their own pursuits: big investme More...
My summary of the thesis: success in anything is best achieved through lightweight experimentation, copious failure (and the learning that goes with it), and a rigorous selection algorithm.
Stated this way, it sounds obvious, but this is the opposite of how most for-profit companies, governments, and individuals behave in their own pursuits: big investme More...
Nov 25, 2011
Michelle
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This is an interesting book, which will make you feel better whenever you have to go on those wanky "leadership" courses to teach you how to be an inspiring leader. Because it sort of says - you could be a wickedly inspiring leader of a company whose time has come, whose technology is no longer wanted. Because that's what happens in life - not every organism (or company or idea) survives.
How the book says this, as well as other things, is by listing very manly examples of More...
How the book says this, as well as other things, is by listing very manly examples of More...
Sep 07, 2011
T.
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the general message of Adapt (and I hope this doesn't count as a SPOILER or anything - hey it is non-fiction right??) Is that in order to really succeed there needs to be some space for failure - the ability to correct mistakes, and a plan to fail safely.
Harford's theory is essentially that just as in the biological world, the financial, military and personal realms need to undergo their own evolution to succeed.
Throughout the novel, Harford examines the financial collaps More...
Harford's theory is essentially that just as in the biological world, the financial, military and personal realms need to undergo their own evolution to succeed.
Throughout the novel, Harford examines the financial collaps More...
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Jun 25, 2011
Doug
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An amalgam of Origin of Wealth: Evolution, Complexity, and the Radical Remaking of Economics and The Innovator's Dilemma: The Revolutionary Book that Will Change the Way You Do Business (and probably a couple other books) in a much more accessible format. His basic theory is that individuals and organizations should not be afraid to fail, and in order to adapt, should 'try new things, in the expectations that some will fail; to make failure survivable, because it will be common; and to make sur
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May 20, 2011
Chris
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Harford is the best of the popular economist writers, and this is a perfect intro and bridge across a number of fascinating subjects, including complexity science, behavioral economics, counterinsurgency, innovation, and economic development, with an emphasis on how they vindicate the importance of failure.. If any of these subjects interest you but you haven't wanted to commit to a whole book on one of the subjects, consider this your app sampler. Quick read as well.
Here are some of t More...
Here are some of t More...
Jun 20, 2011
Andrew
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General David Petraeus received a valuable lesson on feedback when as a captain in 1981 he was offered a job as an aide to Maj. Gen. Jack Galvin. Galvin was one of the writers of the Pentagon Papers, the controversial history of the American war in Vietnam. "Galvin told Petraeus that the most important part of the job was to criticize his boss: 'It's my job to run the division, and it's your job to critique me.' Petraeus protested but Galvin insisted. Galvin taught the young captain that
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Jul 30, 2011
Elizabeth
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from the library
Hide Details
peter palchinsky's principles:p21-25
try new things
in a context where failure is surviveable
seek feedback and learn from your mistakes
hedonic editing is convincing ourselves that mistake doesn't matter
denial
----
seek and hope for surprises
Table of Contents
One Adapting
1 (36)
Two Conflict or: How organisations learn
37 (43)
Thre More...
Hide Details
peter palchinsky's principles:p21-25
try new things
in a context where failure is surviveable
seek feedback and learn from your mistakes
hedonic editing is convincing ourselves that mistake doesn't matter
denial
----
seek and hope for surprises
Table of Contents
One Adapting
1 (36)
Two Conflict or: How organisations learn
37 (43)
Thre More...
Sep 24, 2011
E.M.
rated it:
This book was very affirming for me, given I already pattern my life according to its precepts. What I found odd about it was the analysis.
The author has a long list of credentials as an economist, but his chapter on cap and trade for carbon emissions never used the term "negative externality", though the analysis went right along those lines. As I read it, I wondered if the author was trying to avoid the term for some reason, but I couldn't fathom why, or if he didn't reali More...
The author has a long list of credentials as an economist, but his chapter on cap and trade for carbon emissions never used the term "negative externality", though the analysis went right along those lines. As I read it, I wondered if the author was trying to avoid the term for some reason, but I couldn't fathom why, or if he didn't reali More...
Jan 23, 2012
Peter
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I just finished listening to the audio version of this book. It was a fascinating exploration of why people fail and how to learn from failure, both personally and corporately.
There are great sections on failures, including the failure, and subsequent success of the US forces in Iraq, and the explosions on the drilling rigs Piper Alpha in the North Sea and Deep Water Horizons in the Gulf of Mexico, and the global financial crisis in 2008. There is also extensive discussions on corp More...
There are great sections on failures, including the failure, and subsequent success of the US forces in Iraq, and the explosions on the drilling rigs Piper Alpha in the North Sea and Deep Water Horizons in the Gulf of Mexico, and the global financial crisis in 2008. There is also extensive discussions on corp More...
Aug 27, 2011
Terry
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Part economics, part politics, part sociology, the book focuses on the modern desire for decisions and projects without failure. But failure is the only true way to solve real problems. Societies must encourage experimentation and trials....but this also, by definition, means a certain level of failures. In this sense, failure is a good thing...something to be desired....an integral part of the learning process. His concept is not new. I started my business career in the 80's when American
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Dec 20, 2011
Guy
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I quite enjoyed reading this book. Harford is not afraid of taking his economic background into other non-economic spheres, which makes this book more of a how to manage and prevent disasters manual (disasters of all kinds... from economic meltdowns to nuclear plant meltdowns) then an economic book.
The message Harford delivers in his book is quite clear - as in science, one must experiment and be willing to fail, in order to find success, and while this is fine for science, it can be quite More...
The message Harford delivers in his book is quite clear - as in science, one must experiment and be willing to fail, in order to find success, and while this is fine for science, it can be quite More...
Jul 04, 2011
Bryce
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The themes of this book are decentralization of decision making in complex systems; allowing and even encouraging small and tolerable failures in search of large payoff successes and avoiding catastrophic failure from which it is not possible to recover; and ways of designing incentive systems that reward actual success.
There's another book I'm about halfway through at the moment called The Checklist Manifesto by Atul Gawande that makes a great complement to Adapt.
There's another book I'm about halfway through at the moment called The Checklist Manifesto by Atul Gawande that makes a great complement to Adapt.
Nov 19, 2011
Sean
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The book is interesting, and makes good arguments. The first half of the book is very strong, but the second half of the book is pretty weak. His analysis of the financial collapse is interesting and entertaining. Overall, he makes a strong case for the importance of experimentation and failure in business. Good points, but would have made a better magazine piece than book.
Sep 20, 2011
Doug
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I like Tim Harford's books, and this is no exception: an entertaining and informative read on a new paradigm for success. Harford argues that you should avoid single, big, top-down, long-term strategies in favour of many, localised, small experiments that you can afford to have fail. Good experiments will succeed, bad ones will fail. This will give rise to emergent strategies - bottom up, localised approaches to solving problems that really work. If, during this process, you fail multiple times
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Jul 10, 2011
Cristobal
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If you like Malcolm Gladwell, you will love this book. The main idea of the book is pretty much summed up in the title but it is worth reading the different cases that are analyzed from the 2008 financial crisis, the Gulf of Mexico disaster, and again and again show how flexibility may be one of life's must unappreciated qualities.
Oct 12, 2011
Matthew
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This book was fairly unremarkable and definitely a letdown from Harford's past efforts. The example were mostly from the stock fair of non-fiction writing. The thesis is fine, but overstated and the book never really comes together. The disconnected, and unbelievably long-winded conclusion at the end is a microcosm of the whole. Not enough substance, not enough flow, not enough interest.
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Jul 29, 2011
Three main principles...
1. Variation – seek out new ideas and try new ideas
2. Survivability – when trying something new, do it on a scale where failure is survivable
3. Selection – seek out feedback and learn from mistakes as you go along, avoiding an instinctive reaction of denial.
1. Variation – seek out new ideas and try new ideas
2. Survivability – when trying something new, do it on a scale where failure is survivable
3. Selection – seek out feedback and learn from mistakes as you go along, avoiding an instinctive reaction of denial.
Dec 19, 2011
Leon
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I thought the most interesting chapter was the one on systems that are tightly-coupled and complex. Harford argues that financial regulators should learn from those who design safety systems for oil rigs and nuclear power stations.
Sep 15, 2011
Steve
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I'm loving the opening of this book! It's comforting in a way to know that there are limits to planning and analysis, and that for most complex issues, there's no better alternative than trial and error and what you learn from it.
Dec 29, 2011
Visakan
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Wonderfully compelling argument for the necessity of failure in the path to success, in any situation of sufficient complexity. Very affirming and encouraging; a call to arms to go out there and fail your way to success.
Feb 02, 2012
Greg
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Charles Darwin, were he still alive, would obviously be a fan of Google’s business practices. Google has a ’20 percent policy’, that has become quite famous and is rooted in evolutionary theory. Any engineer at Google is essentially allowed to spend one fifth of their time exploring any project they think is worthwhile, without fear of failure. This policy has birthed some wildly successful products (Google News and Adsense) and it has also expectedly produced a large portfolio of failures too.
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Aug 19, 2011
Michele
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Being raised in a home that could have had one of those 70's style, embroidery samplers with a "Why-isn't-that-A-minus-an-A-plus?" mantra, I appreciated the theme of this book, which in a nutshell is -- if you screw up, if things don't go the way you planned, big deal. Get over it and move on. The book is chock full of real-life examples of people who were able to move beyond their failures. And many who were not. Loved a quote that was used in the book -- "Ever tried. Ever failed
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Jun 21, 2011
Ben
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Harford's exploration of failure, and how we as individuals, organizations, nations, and life act, fail, learn, adapt, and go on to succeed.
Applicable to most anyone, and fascinating...
Applicable to most anyone, and fascinating...
Aug 15, 2011
Denali
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I love his radio show and this was pleasantly diverting but I can't fully buy in to the "here's a grand theory of everything" big idea books.
Aug 23, 2011
Lihsian
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My review in The Star Daily
http://thestar.com.my/lifestyle/story.as...
http://thestar.com.my/lifestyle/story.as...
Jul 06, 2011
thom
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Interesting, well-written book that often explains complex economic details in very simple language (indeed, it includes one of the best explanations for the credit crunch that I've read anywhere). The premise, that setting up systems so that there is room for failure, is persuasive and Harford is the first to point out areas in which the simplest version of his theory is likely to fail, and therefore hones it as he goes. A really excellent read.
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Sep 24, 2011
Mike
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One of those quick reads that makes sense going down, isn't very memorable a couple of weeks later.
