This is How Feedback Loops Point You in the Right Direction

I had just got off the elevator at my condo the other day when I ran into Oswaldo, an older gentleman who lives in my building.  Oswaldo is a super nice guy and we chit chat whenever I see him. He seemed a bit upset this day and started venting to me. From what I could gather from his broken English, it seemed like he was having troubles with his marriage of 30 years and knowing that I blogged about self-improvement, he wanted my advice on using something he had recently heard about – feedback loops.

“No worries Oswaldo, I got your back (motioning to his back to make sure he knew I had it), come by my unit and we can discuss feedback loops. Ironically, I’m in the process of writing a blog post on them”.

So, he came in, I grabbed him a cerveza (beer) and I proceeded to go through the blog post that follows with him.

I explained each part in detail, using my hands and some pictures to help get us through the language barrier:

What are Feedback Loops?

A feedback loop is the part of a system that takes the actual outputs from one step in a process and feeds them back/forward/sideways to another step in the process. The purpose of a feedback loop is to use the data it transports from step A to step B to close the gap between the desired and actual process outputs.

Simply Put

A feedback loop is getting real-time information about the actions that you take so that you can understand where you are, then compare it to where you want to be, so you can take further action to get closer to your desired goal.

Feedback Loops in Business and Everyday Life

Feedback loops are everywhere in your everyday life.

Some examples you may be familiar with:

Your thermostat – You set your thermostat to a certain temperature. When the temperature drops below it, the heat comes on to warm things up to that temperature.  When the temperature rises above it, the air conditioner comes on to lower things down to that temperature.

Dynamic speed displays – You know when you are driving along, and they have those signs that flash your speed and tell you to slow down if you are going too fast? Those are another great example of feedback loops. And research shows that they are highly effective too and on average cause people to slow down by 10%.

Background checks – An example of an important human resources process is the background check that is usually the last major process completed before hiring a new employee. The hiring manager gives human resources the name of the person she wants to hire, and then human resources begin the background check process. The aim of this process is to make sure the new employee does not have any showstopper skeletons in his closet that puts the organization at risk. The feedback loop here is when the human resources manager reports back to the hiring manager on the employee’s appropriateness for a given job, or not!

The Format of Feedback Loops:

There are 3 steps to a feedback loop:

(1)  A measurement which is a real-time indicator of whatever you are focused on improving.

(2)  A comparison which compares the observed measurement (what is actually happening) to the expected measurement (what you want to happen).

(3)  An action which is a step taken in response to the comparison to bring the observed (what is happening) closer to the expected (what you want to happen).

Let’s go a bit deeper with thermostat example:

The measurement is the current observed current temperature.

The comparison is comparing the observed current temperature to whatever the expected temperature is.

The action is:

Do nothing if observed temperature = expected temperature.
A/C goes on if observed temperature > expected temperature.
Heat goes on if observed temperature < expected temperature.

Why We Need Feedback Loops

How do you know if you are on the right track unless you get some type of feedback on what you are trying to achieve?  Otherwise, you are just shooting in the dark!

What Makes Good Feedback Loops?

There are a few things that make feedback loops good:

(1)  Selecting the proper measure, having an automatic or easy collection of data for the measure, receiving the data immediately or as soon as possible.
(2)  The comparison that you are making is relevant and easy to make.
(3)  An action is able to be taken to get you closer to your goal.

Not All Feedback Loops are Performed Correctly

Not all feedback loops are well designed or properly used.  Let’s look at some examples of shitty or sub-optimal feedback loops:

Body Composition

One of my favorite examples is assessing your body composition or your efforts to get in shape by weighing yourself. In this case, the problem is that you are not using a good measurement.

The problem with weighing yourself is that your weight is always fluctuating due to many factors such as your hydration levels, whether you have pooped or not, whether or not you are having your menstrual cycle for the women.  Not only that but muscle is denser than fat, so if you are lifting weights you may weigh more but be leaner.

Better measures for body composition may be: taking your measurements, taking pictures of yourself every so often, going by how you look in the mirror, going by how you feel etc.

Performance Review

This is a big one in the working world.  The problem with using performance appraisal has many problems with respect for not being an effective feedback loop. Many of the measures are arbitrary, i.e. increase sales by 10% sounds like a number someone pulled out of their ass.  Another problem is that they occur annually at worst and quarterly at best – way too infrequent. Lastly, there is usually not great feedback given to the employee to actually make proper adjustments.

A better way to do it is to give constant feedback to your employees, come up with objectives and metrics that make sense. And when the observed metric is less than the expected metric, figure out a strategy to improve it.

Grades

How about grades for students? Another typically shitty feedback loop. Why?  There are many reasons, foremost among them is that you are not telling the student how they can improve.  That is not to mention the fact that the research (Shute, 2008) has shown that comparing students to each other via grades, threats and rankings are bad for learning as they cause anxiety and threaten self-esteem.

One way to improve feedback for students is a method that Prime Your Pump’s Howie discussed in one of his weekly videos.  He allows his students to redo their work until they master it.  This creates a lot of work for him, but much better learning outcomes for students.

Using Feedback Loops in Your Life

“What are some examples of feedback loops I can use in my life?”, you ask.  Good question, here are some examples:

Utilizing technology – With technology these days, utilizing feedback loops just got much easier. Many people have failed to utilize feedback loops in the past due to the fact that collecting data has not been easy and even a little cumbersome, i.e. writing stuff on that pad of paper is a pain in the ass. Some examples of how technology has enabled feedback loops are:

Accelerometers used to measure motion and can help track steps and activity via wearable bracelets such as a Fit Bit.

Medication adherence -An interesting example is the Glowcap which attempts to solve the problem of people forgetting to take their medication by having a pill bottle that uses light and sound reminders.

Heart rate monitors – Heart rate monitors are used for fitness enthusiasts to ensure they are meeting their fitness goals.

GPS sensors to track your location and immediately let you know if you are heading in the right direction.

In your relationships – Communication is the key to successful relationships, so make sure to keep those lines of communication open.

Sex – There is nothing wrong with letting your partner know what you like and what turns you on. In fact, you are helping them out and you are helping yourself out. Talk about a win-win!

Seinfeld’s productivity chain – Are you prone to procrastination? One solution is to use Seinfeld’s Productivity Chain, which I wrote about recently, to put a big red X on the calendar each time you complete something, the constant feedback will help you continue whatever it is you are working on.

Reflection – Taking time to do some reflection at the end of the day is the simplest way to utilize a feedback loop. Think about what went right, what didn’t and how you can do better in the future.

Things to Keep in Mind When Using Feedback Loops – Use It or Lose It

These are some things you will want to keep in mind when creating the feedback loop:

  Select the proper measure for your feedback loop in the first place.
  Try to have an automatic or easy collection of data for the measure, meaning you will be receiving the data immediately or as soon as possible.
  Make sure the comparison you are making is relevant and easy to make.
  Ensure action is able to be taken.

Other pieces of advice related to feedback loops:

  Don’t overreact and change what you are doing without really thinking about it and making sure it is not just random noise – like the example of weighing yourself.
  Using goals or sub-goals that are smaller will help keep you engaged better.
  Feedback loops are iterative, so keep measuring and seeing where you are with respect to your goals.
  The power of feedback loops is to give people control, not to control people. Like the dynamic speed display as opposed to a speed trap. One tries to catch you while the other one is a reminder that you are off course.

So, I got through the blog post…

And tried to close the loop with Oswaldo by telling him that many marriages deteriorate after 30 years due to a lack of communication.

I told him that by using feedback loops in his marriage in the form of better communication with his wife that he may be able to make his lousy situation better.

At this point, Oswaldo looked extremely confused and pulled out his phone to demonstrate to me that he knew more about feedback loops than I gave him credit for.

He showed me a picture of some KY Jelly. Then, after a few universally explicit hand gestures, I knew exactly what had happened.  It turns out that Oswaldo wasn’t saying ‘feedback loop’ in the first place, he was saying ‘forgot the lube’.

Then he showed me a picture of him and his wife from their wedding 30 years ago.

Ah! Now it all was making sense.  It turns out it was his 30th anniversary and he wanted to know if I had any lube he could borrow because…he forgot the lube. “Ugh,” I said as I smacked myself on the forehead.

He could not have given less of a shit about my post on feedback loops!

Until next time, keep using those feedback loops, don’t forget the lube and as always…PYMFP!

–Rick

When to Use It

  Use it when you are trying to figure out if you are on the right track with a specific initiative or action that you are taking.

What Do You Think?

  Do you have any other examples of how you use feedback loops in your life? Please share in the comments below!

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