Book Review

Author: Tim Harford
Publisher: Highbridge Company
Language: English
Binding: Paperback
Pages: 272
ISBN 13: 9781611745023
ISBN 10: 1611745020

Tim Harford's “Adapt - why success always starts with failure” examines the architecture of success in an environment filled with the fear of failure. The author of “The Undercover Economist” offers the readers revealing insights into the complex and fast moving problems in a complex and fast moving world. Be it climate change or the financial crisis  he has largely been able to simplify the complex set of issues yet retaining the much needed depth.

Beginning with a humble case of Thomas Twaites adventures of opening the proverbial Pandora's box, the complexity of trying to remake the toaster brings out the set-backs one faces in one's search for something better. In an increasingly complex environment where failure is but ineviatble, Tim puts forth the arguement that  instead of trying to meet the present challenges with ready-made solutions, expert opinions, and worse put an end to the process of continuity, it would be in the best interest if we were to 'ADAPT'. Charles Darwin too believed that, “It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is the most adaptable to change,” Tim Harford has taken this philosophy  this forward  in his new book.

Tim justifies his stand that in today's unpredictable and profoundly complex world, we can not tackle the current challenges with ready-made solutions and expert opinions. He cites the example of the forecasts made of the Russian response to the developments during the Cold War. The lesson one can draw from the example on Cold War and from other varied examples is that the failure to forecast the future is primarily because we fail  to fully comprehend the complexity and the dynamism of the present. The author agrees that it is next to impossible to account for all the variables and thus the anomaly over the results that we generally arrive at based on statistics and expert opinions.

Why is it that companies which featured in Tom Peters 'In Search of Excellence' failed drastically a year later? Why is it that the Top 100 companies of yesteryear do not even feature in similar rankings today? Why is it that the corporations such as Pullman, IBM, Guttenberg and others who enjoyed the 'first mover's advantage' in their respective fields, no longer find any mention. The answer to these and many more, as Tim argues, lie in the fact that failure is fudamental to the way market creates sophisticated and wealthy economies.

It is but a fact that the market fumbles its way to success as successful ideas take off and less successful ones die out. Success depends on whether adaptive measures were inculcated post initial set of failures or not. These ambitious, entertaining, and enthralling work presented in an immensely readable format with remarkable frequency of surprises and twists is the distinctive feature of the book, enough to keep the readers hooked on.

Be it - Reginald Mitchell (an aeronautical engineer),  HR McMaster ( a US soldier who is credited with securing the Iraqi city of Tal Afar), Esther Duflo (a French Economist), Archie Cochrane (a Scottish doctor), John Timpson ( the founder of shoe repair business), or Twyla Tharp (an American dancer and choreographer); all are simple heroes whose stories have been woven and who have left an indellible mark in Tim Harford's ADAPT. Tim harbors the stories of simple people as unlike others who do not dare to challenge the conventional wisdom and more often than not look up to their leaders for solving any crisis like situation; they were committed to trial and error and were more than willing to recognise failures and set backs as a part of the on going search process to find something better. What makes their success stories an interesting read is Tim's focus on the nuances as to how they responded flexibly to the dynamic environment (be it social, political, economic, or geo-political) by spending time on the ground rather than imposing a top down strategy.

Furthering Peter Palchinsky's priciple based on variation, survivability and selection (to encourage leadership and effective policies); Tim's 'ADAPT' creates a more generous space for ideas to mingle. The author strongly argues that instead of lying low, it would be more prudent if one were to capture and leverage the information emerging out of failures. This would certainly help in shaping future efforts and not being dubbed as a 'quintessential fool.' A book which lays emphasis on adaptive trial-and-error tactics to solve even the most compelling problem of the present day (poverty, financial crisis, climate change, et al ) is for sure a handbook which will help one survive and prosper in a complex and dynamic world. If you are prepared for SUCCESS, be equally prepared for FAILURE; for SUCCESS always starts with FAILURE.