COVID-19: The Importance of Learning
Learning from our failures is vital for a post-COVID future
COVID-19 is a complex entity. Over the past few months, several challenges have been experienced across health, social and economic sectors. In Matthew Syed’s ‘Black Box Thinking’, an emphasis on learning from the challenges (or failures) faced is encouraged. In doing so, the knowledge gained can be used to update existing models, strategies and behaviours. This is especially important, given that there have been over 35.5 million recorded cases of COVID-19 and over 1 million recorded deaths due to COVID-19 (WHO, 2020).
In an example referring to the aviation industry, Syed highlights a quote from Chesley Sullenberger, the pilot who famously landed US Airways Flight 1549, an Airbus A320, on the Hudson River in 2009:
“Everything we know in aviation, every rule in the rule book, every procedure we have, we know because someone somewhere died . . . We have purchased at great cost, lessons literally bought with blood that we have to preserve as institutional knowledge and pass on to succeeding generations. We cannot have the moral failure of forgetting these lessons and have to relearn them.” (Syed, 2015, p.44)
There are clear parallels to the COVID-19 pandemic. Unfortunately, COVID-19 is still a cause for many deaths and many uncertainties. Some have argued that this has resulted from a multitude of mistakes and failures in managing the pandemic successfully. However, learning from our mistakes is vital (Syed, 2015). As such, we must harness our knowledge and experience of the virus to help propel strategies to suppress, eliminate or eradicate COVID-19.
Using principles outlined in ‘Black Box Thinking’, this could be achieved by recognising that:
- The single greatest obstacle to progress is failing to learn from mistakes.
- A cornerstone to success is a progressive attitude to failure.
- Only by redefining failure will we unleash progress, creativity, and resilience.
The COVID-19 pandemic will likely bring further issues ahead; looking ahead and planning for the future is therefore necessary. By acting on the learning opportunities we have now, we may be better placed to manage the pandemic and face the post-COVID future.
References:
Syed, M. (2015). Black Box Thinking. Penguin Publishing Group.
WHO. (2020). WHO Coronavirus (COVID-19) Dashboard. [Online] Available at: <https://covid19.who.int/> [Accessed 28 September 2020].
