Formula 2 + 2
The Simple Solution for Successful Coaching
Doug Allen (Author) | Dwight Allen (Author)
Publication date: 11/04/2004
- The latest volume in Berrett-Koehler's Ken Blanchard Series
- Includes a foreword by Ken Blanchard, an introduction by Bill Cosby, and a mid-book message from lunar astronaut Buzz Aldrin
- Offers managers a simple system that will increase their effectiveness and improve employee morale and productivity
- Written in the accessible and compelling Blanchard storytelling style
- The latest volume in Berrett-Koehler's Ken Blanchard Series
- Includes a foreword by Ken Blanchard, an introduction by Bill Cosby, and a mid-book message from lunar astronaut Buzz Aldrin
- Offers managers a simple system that will increase their effectiveness and improve employee morale and productivity
- Written in the accessible and compelling Blanchard storytelling style
In today's fast-paced and rapidly changing business environment, frequent feedback and "course correction" is absolutely vital. But about the only time most managers offer employees feedback is during scheduled (and generally infrequent) performance appraisals, which tend to be stiff, formal, and-whether intentionally or not-adversarial, and therefore ineffective.
Formula 2+2 offers a simple yet powerful approach to revolutionizing feedback conversations. It details the five secrets of effective feedback: making it timely, balanced between compliments and critiques, focused on high priority areas, supported with specific examples, and reinforced with appropriate follow-up.
The book tracks the transformation of Pauline, a strong but traditional leader whose attempts at coaching and feedback are failing miserably. An old friend introduces her to Formula 2+2 and walks her through the five secrets of effectively implementing 2+2 feedback. Pauline discovers that providing feedback is not a necessary evil, but can become a welcome part of the manager's job.
Formula 2+2 shows how to foster a culture of continuous feedback which increases the effectiveness of the manager, protects the spirit and dignity of employees, and provides a systematic approach to reinforcing and improving employee performance.
- The latest volume in Berrett-Koehler's Ken Blanchard Series
- Includes a foreword by Ken Blanchard, an introduction by Bill Cosby, and a mid-book message from lunar astronaut Buzz Aldrin
- Offers managers a simple system that will increase their effectiveness and improve employee morale and productivity
- Written in the accessible and compelling Blanchard storytelling style
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Overview
- The latest volume in Berrett-Koehler's Ken Blanchard Series
- Includes a foreword by Ken Blanchard, an introduction by Bill Cosby, and a mid-book message from lunar astronaut Buzz Aldrin
- Offers managers a simple system that will increase their effectiveness and improve employee morale and productivity
- Written in the accessible and compelling Blanchard storytelling style
- The latest volume in Berrett-Koehler's Ken Blanchard Series
- Includes a foreword by Ken Blanchard, an introduction by Bill Cosby, and a mid-book message from lunar astronaut Buzz Aldrin
- Offers managers a simple system that will increase their effectiveness and improve employee morale and productivity
- Written in the accessible and compelling Blanchard storytelling style
In today's fast-paced and rapidly changing business environment, frequent feedback and "course correction" is absolutely vital. But about the only time most managers offer employees feedback is during scheduled (and generally infrequent) performance appraisals, which tend to be stiff, formal, and-whether intentionally or not-adversarial, and therefore ineffective.
Formula 2+2 offers a simple yet powerful approach to revolutionizing feedback conversations. It details the five secrets of effective feedback: making it timely, balanced between compliments and critiques, focused on high priority areas, supported with specific examples, and reinforced with appropriate follow-up.
The book tracks the transformation of Pauline, a strong but traditional leader whose attempts at coaching and feedback are failing miserably. An old friend introduces her to Formula 2+2 and walks her through the five secrets of effectively implementing 2+2 feedback. Pauline discovers that providing feedback is not a necessary evil, but can become a welcome part of the manager's job.
Formula 2+2 shows how to foster a culture of continuous feedback which increases the effectiveness of the manager, protects the spirit and dignity of employees, and provides a systematic approach to reinforcing and improving employee performance.
- The latest volume in Berrett-Koehler's Ken Blanchard Series
- Includes a foreword by Ken Blanchard, an introduction by Bill Cosby, and a mid-book message from lunar astronaut Buzz Aldrin
- Offers managers a simple system that will increase their effectiveness and improve employee morale and productivity
- Written in the accessible and compelling Blanchard storytelling style
Table of Contents
Foreword by Ken Blanchard
Introduction: Bill Cosby
Prologue
1. The Unguided Missile
2. The Performance Appraisal: About As Much Fun As a Trip to the Dentist
3. The Trip to the Dentist
4. Celebrate Success and Encourage Improvement
5. The Magic of Balance
6. The Importance of Timeliness
7. The Spirit of 2+2
A Special Message from Buzz Aldrin, Astronaut, Apollo 11
8. The Power of Focus
9. Getting 2+2 Up and Running
10. The Need for Specificity
11. 2+2: Take Two
12. The Integrated Follow-Up
13. Creating a Sustainable 2+2 Program
14. Epilogue: Two Years Later
Authors' Final Note
The Secrets of 2+2
Pauline's 2+2 Preparation Checklist
Acknowledgments
About the Authors
Back to Top ↑Excerpt
INTRODUCTION BY BILL COSBY
Though I’ve never really thought about it before, Formula 2+2 has led me to realize that I’ve depended upon feedback and encouragement all my life. I know that if people ever stop laughing, I’m in trouble. Take my concert performances for instance. The live audience is all about feedback. The spontaneous laughs, applause—even the occasional jeer—all tell me whether I’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. “Speedy” feedback is defined as semiannual or quarterly appraisal—not much better. Too often, the little feedback offered is feared, not welcomed.
In comedy it’s the other way around. It’s the immediate and positive feedback that keeps you going. When the laughter stops, you know you have to do something different—and fast. Comedy involves lots of improvisation. Even tried-and-true routines are adapted to the audience in real time—you need to respond to the moment. Isn’t it obvious that the workplace should encourage a similar response to the moment? But that’s pretty unrealistic if immediate response means as soon as possible—after the semiannual review!
That’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—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 “the look,” the feedback we were getting was anything but balanced. All too frequently, feedback in the workplace sure feels like “the look.”
Formula 2+2 can help you replace “the look” with a balance of compliments and suggestions. If my audiences just sat there, satisfied but not laughing (or even worse, giving me “the look”), I would soon be looking for new material—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—and eager to do more. Suggestions provide us with the opportunity to improve—en route to receiving even more compliments.
You’ll like what Doug and Dwight say; and I like the way they say it. The next time you are tempted to give someone “the look,” try using 2+2!
Back to Top ↑Endorsements
"Formula 2+2 provides a key building block for leaders at all levels of the organization to be effective coaches and teachers. Great leaders teach their organizations to win--2+2 is a required tool to get them there."
--Noel M. Tichy, author of the bestselling The Leadership Engine (with Eli Cohen) and The Cycle of Leadership
"Read this book. Practice the concepts presented. I guarantee it will make a difference in the way your organization operates. The 2+2 feedback and coaching system will build enthusiastic people that will better serve your customers and contribute to your organization."
--from the foreword by Ken Blanchard, coauthor of The One Minute Manager
"Formula 2+2 shows managers and employees alike how to dish up regular doses of encouragement for everyone on the job: encouragement balanced with suggestions for improvement. Each becomes more meaningful with the other. 2+2 is the best approach to performance appraisal I've seen."
--Jack Canfield, coauthor of Chicken Soup for the Soul
"If you think managing and evaluating employees is frustrating, time-consuming, and exhausting, then read this book--right now! You will find out how to help employees be more productive and you'll help them to learn at a faster rate. And your own job might become more satisfying in the process. While you're at it, buy a copy for your boss."
--Dorothy Marcic, faculty member at Vanderbilt University and author of Managing with the Wisdom of Love
"Formula 2+2 addresses one of the most difficult human resource management challenges facing Chinese managers: giving effective performance feedback to employees without causing a loss of 'face.' The 2+2 system allows managers to address both positive and negative aspects of performance. This balanced approach encourages direct feedback with a constructive spirit."
--Xu Erming, Dean, School of Business, Renmin University of China, Beijing
"Homebuilders always emphasize quality. Formula 2+2 adds a powerful tool to the construction managers' 'toolbox' as they seek ways to coach their employees and hold them accountable for doing a great job."
--Chuck Shinn, President, Lee Evans Group Management Seminars for Homebuilders
