The Geek Way summary

To improve a tuberculosis program in Kenya, patients were sent text messages every day reminding them to take their medication. They had to reply – and if they didn’t, they received more messages, and follow-up from peers.

The program was based on two fundamentals: first, patients knew everyone was watching and counting on them; and second, it was impossible for the patients to deny that their community had made an effort to help them get well. Even more important was the fact that the program had established a norm – in this case, completion of the treatment.

Coca-Cola shocked Americans when it introduced New Coke in 1985. The new brand would improve on the legendary product, the company said. It had repeated Pepsi’s experiment that showed blindfolded taste-testers preferred its rival’s product, but what it hadn’t tested was what Coke meant to Americans. Chaos and protests ensued, forcing Coca-Cola to apologize and revert to its original formula.

Coca-Cola behaved like any ordinary human. Humans are hardwired for overconfidence. Evolution installed a “press secretary” module in our brains that paints us in the best light so that we seem adept before our peers. We thus delude even ourselves, resulting in flawed choices and forecasts.

In 1944, the US intelligence service wrote a manual that was designed to guide ordinary citizens and allies in occupied territories on how to conduct what can be termed as “bureaucratic sabotage”. This manual was intended to be a guide on how to subtly disrupt and slow down the Nazi operations. The manual advised that for virtually any task or assignment, no matter how minor, individuals should seek official permission. This wasn’t just a matter of getting a simple approval; it involved going through the proper channels, which in a bureaucratic system, could be quite convoluted and time-consuming. The process of seeking permission was intended to be deliberately inefficient. 

When individuals route their requests through multiple channels, the system becomes clogged with minor issues, thus taking attention and resources away from more significant matters. This is a problem many businesses and organizations are facing. They self-sabotage with bureaucracy, frustrating employees and slowing everything down.

How does Elon Musk’s SpaceX build cheaper rockets and yet manage to test and launch them more quickly than government-funded NASA? 

Large undertakings frequently succumb to the 90 percent illusion – seeming to be on track before unforeseen delays materialize at the last step. A sort of “liars’ club” drives this illusion. Teams disingenuously self-report progress to avoid appearing deficient.

You’ve probably heard the fable of the emperor and his new clothes. No one wanted to take the risk of telling him that he was dressed in nothing. He walked around, parading his imaginary finery, till a child pointed out that he was naked – and then everyone acknowledged that the emperor had made a fool of himself.

The reason you’ve encountered the notion of openness throughout this Blink is because it’s a fundamental issue. Without it, there are no grounds for a manager to apply science, grant employees ownership, or empower them to operate at speed.