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!

BILL COSBY, ED.D.