Adapt: Why Success Always Starts with Failure book info and recommendations from remarkable people

Adapt: Why Success Always Starts with Failure

March 1, 2012

Categories:Non-Fiction

Adapt: Why Success Always Starts with Failure by Tim Harford offers an in-depth analysis of the importance of being able to recover from failure and innovate in order to succeed. By exploring the lives of famous innovators, from Charles Darwin to Steve Jobs, and utilizing real-world anecdotes from scientists, entrepreneurs, and engineers, Harford argues that in an ever-changing world, those who are persistently able to look at failure as an opportunity to improve and adapt — rather than a sign of ultimate defeat — are the ones who will ultimately thrive.Harford explains that giving ourselves permission to fail is the first step in learning how to be resilient and find creative solutions to complex problems. He also examines the power of trial and error and argues that experimentation is essential to any process of adaptation. By using science and evidence, Harford backs up his argument that being prepared to break the rules, to be flexible and to carry on with courage and creativity in the face of failure, is the way to succeed.Adapt is full of thought-provoking topics and insightful advice. Harford’s clever writing style keeps readers engaged, while his comprehensive research and powerful real-life examples make it the perfect book for anyone interested in the study of resilience and innovation. It is an invaluable source of inspiration and guidance for anyone looking to develop the skillset to survive and grow despite the challenges life throws their way.

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Rendors (7)

Thinkers 50

Distinguished University Professor

MIT Professor

Tim Ferris Show Guest

Dan Ariely

Professor and author

Distinguished University Professor

MIT Professor

Tim Harford has made a compelling and expertly informed case for why we need to embrace risk, failure, and experimentation in order to find great ideas that will change the world. I loved the book.

David Burkus

Business thinkers

Thinkers 50

I’m a surprisingly big fan of The Undercover Economist by Tim Harford. He has a couple of different books that I don’t think get enough credit, but they’re awesome. Messy is one of them, The Undercover Economist is another and then I’d also include Adapt is a fantastic book.

Sheena Iyengar

Professor of Business in the Management Department

Thinkers 50

Harford’s wide-ranging look at social adaptation is fresh, creative, and timely.

Stephen Dubner

Author, journalist

Tim Ferris Show Guest

One of the best writers who also happens to be an economist.

Tom Peters

September 1, 2018

Writer

Thinkers 50

Matt Ridley

Journalist and businessman

Harford’s case histories are well chosen and artfully told, making the book a delight to read. But its value is greater than that. Strand by strand, it weaves the stories into a philosophical web that is neat, fascinating and brilliant . . . It advances the subject as well as conveying it, drawing intriguing conclusions about how to run companies, armies and research labs.

Nassim Taleb

Essayist, scholar

Adapt is a highly readable, even entertaining, argument against top-down design. It debunks the Soviet-Harvard command-and-control style of planning and approach to economic policies and regulations and vindicates trial and error (particularly the error part) as a means to economic and general progress. Very impressive!