Berrett-Koehler, Fachbücher, Formula 2+2: The Simple Solution for Successful Coaching (Englisch, Douglas B. Allen, Dwigh...

INTRODUCTION BY BILL COSBY Though I&rsquo ve never really thought about it before, Formula 2+2 has led me to realize that I&rsquo ve depended upon feedback and encouragement all my life. I know that if people ever stop laughing, I&rsquo m in trouble. Take my concert performances for instance. The live audience is all about feedback. The spontaneous laughs, applause&mdash even the occasional jeer&mdash all tell me whether I&rsquo m on track and getting my message across. The real-time feedback I rely upon is frequently missing from the workplace. In many organizations, the only feedback you can count on is the annual evaluation, and it is almost always stale news by the time you get it. &ldquo Speedy&rdquo feedback is defined as semiannual or quarterly appraisal&mdash not much better. Too often, the little feedback offered is feared, not welcomed. In comedy it&rsquo s the other way around. It&rsquo s the immediate and positive feedback that keeps you going. When the laughter stops, you know you have to do something different&mdash and fast. Comedy involves lots of improvisation. Even tried-and-true routines are adapted to the audience in real time&mdash you need to respond to the moment. Isn&rsquo t it obvious that the workplace should encourage a similar response to the moment? But that&rsquo s pretty unrealistic if immediate response means as soon as possible&mdash after the semiannual review! That&rsquo s why this book is so important. If you take it to heart, its message can change your whole attitude toward feedback. I have seen firsthand how this can happen. At the University of Massachusetts, where I was a doctoral student, Dwight Allen created a school of education that lived and breathed feedback and encouragement. The results were amazing, and that same spirit is captured in this book. Dwight and his son Doug have woven a fine story, telling of the current woes and bright hopes for feedback and encouragement. If you follow their lead, you will be able to engage in great feedback conversations&mdash with your employees, your colleagues, even your family! The 2+2 concept sounds simple: a balance of compliments and suggestions given on a regular basis. It is simple, but not that simple. The trick is in the delivery. When I was a kid, we knew that when Grandma gave us &ldquo the look,&rdquo the feedback we were getting was anything but balanced. All too frequently, feedback in the workplace sure feels like &ldquo the look.&rdquo Formula 2+2 can help you replace &ldquo the look&rdquo with a balance of compliments and suggestions. If my audiences just sat there, satisfied but not laughing (or even worse, giving me &ldquo the look&rdquo ), I would soon be looking for new material&mdash or a new audience. Receiving compliments can help prepare us to hear the more difficult things. It makes us comfortable about what we are doing right&mdash and eager to do more. Suggestions provide us with the opportunity to improve&mdash en route to receiving even more compliments. You&rsquo ll like what Doug and Dwight say and I like the way they say it. The next time you are tempted to give someone &ldquo the look,&rdquo try using 2+2! BILL COSBY, ED.D.