Have you ever heard of “black box thinking”?
It’s a concept that can help you improve your activities and provide better experiences for your young customers.
So, what is black box thinking? It’s a way of learning from mistakes and failures. In the aviation industry, a black box is a device that records data from a plane’s flight, including any errors or malfunctions. When something goes wrong, investigators can use the data from the black box to figure out what happened and how to prevent it from happening again.
But black box thinking isn’t just for planes. It can be applied to any industry, including the children’s activity sector. When something goes wrong during an activity, it’s easy to beat ourselves up. But with black-box thinking, you can take a step back and analyse what happened objectively.
For example, let’s say you’re running a painting activity for kids. One child accidentally spills paint on another child’s shirt. You can use black-box thinking to figure out what went wrong. Maybe the paint was too close to the edge of the table, or maybe the children weren’t given clear instructions on how to handle the paint. By analysing what happened and making changes to prevent it from happening again, you can improve your activity and provide a better experience for your young customers.
Black box thinking isn’t just about fixing mistakes, it’s also about continuous improvement. By analysing what went wrong and making changes, you can make your activities even better. Maybe you’ll find a way to make your painting activity less messy, or maybe you’ll discover a new technique for teaching kids how to tie their shoes.
So, how can you apply black-box thinking to your children’s activities? Here are a few tips:
1. Encourage feedback: Ask parents and children for feedback after each activity. What did they like? What could be improved? Use this feedback to make changes and improve future activities.
2. Analyse mistakes: When something goes wrong during an activity, take a step back and analyse what happened. What could have been done differently? How can you prevent it from happening again?
3. Embrace failure: Don’t be afraid to make mistakes. Instead, see them as opportunities to learn and improve.
By adopting a black-box thinking approach, you can provide better experiences for your young customers and continuously improve your activities. So, next time something goes wrong, embrace black-box thinking and use it to make your activities, and your business, even better.
P.S. “Black Box Thinking” is a book written by Matthew Syed, a British journalist and author. The book explores the concept of learning from failure and the importance of adopting a mindset that embraces mistakes as opportunities for growth and improvement. Syed draws upon various industries, including aviation, healthcare, and sport, to highlight the benefits of a “black box” approach. I highly recommend checking it out.
