Facts that still surprised me though I've been following Theranos since 2015
I still remembered searching WIPO for Theranos's patents and FDA establishment registration back in 2015, and was disappointed to find that there's little evidence that this company was worth 9 billion. I've been since following the Theranos's downfall, which happened very rapidly. I read this book with the initial purpose of reminding myself of the evil in lying to become successful, but was still surprised with the additional facts of how Theranos got away with so many lies along its growth.
The first and foremost was the role of the litigator David Boies. He has been very instrumental in enforcing the secrecy of Theranos's lies. With little relevant factual evidence, he was still able to force the family of Fuisz to surrender. Without him, I don't think Elizabeth could easily intimidate former employees to keep confidential about what was not working. The scandal wouldn't be what it is, if all former employees had been outspoken in the very beginning.
The second was the stubbornness of George Shultz and Steven Burd. Both are very experienced and strategic in their career, and have been wildly successful. But in the case of endorsing Elizabeth, both have been misled and extremely stubborn in listening to advices. It teaches the importance of field expertise in leadership. Without that, leadership can be disastrous stubbornness.
Lastly, diagnosis isn't easy. It's not just a question of instrumental technology, but also of human physiology. The blood coming out of capilaries are just not the same as the blood coming out of the veins. The latter is the gold standard of diagnosis, but the former is easily contaminated by dead cells in the tissues and can't be very reliable without going in depth to filter these contamination.
Overall, the lesson drawn from the Theranos story is the deep respect for Hippocratic Oath of "first, do no harm", and the consequence of ignoring this oath.
