Monthly Archives: May 2012

Feedback, The Breakfast of Champions

The other night I watched two teenage sisters shine. They shined so brightly that their audience beamed with pride at their character and accomplishment. The girls volunteered to make a presentation and be coached in front of roughly fifty adults at a meeting of the Institute for Cultural Communicators (ICC). After diligent preparation and no small amount of creative labor, the girls stood in front of their audience ready to deliver their performance. What happened next reminded me of a paper my wife wrote entitled “Feedback: The Breakfast of Champions.” The girls confidently delivered their presentation. Then they consumed enough “breakfast” for a team of champions. Again and again, they performed and consumed, performed, and consumed. It was beautiful– and so were they.

With each cycle, their presentation improved. The girls listened carefully and graciously, though it was no doubt trying to be jostled around by such direct feedback– don’t do that, try this, now this… In the end, the performance was greatly improved and so was, I believe, the audience. We, the audience, witnessed two young ladies gracefully accept and respond to a public critique of something they personally created and performed. The contrast with the adult workplace was glaring, at least to me.

As I reflect on the contrast and draw on my years of experience, here is what I see.

ICC Workplace
Interdependence Autonomy
Feedback is expected and wanted by both parties Feedback is threatening to both parties
Feedback is essential to the process Feedback is an exception to the process
Critics are viewed as partners Critics are viewed as rivals
Accepting feedback is a sign of character Accepting feedback is a sign of weakness

I doubt that these girls have always taken feedback so well.  Most people don’t.  But I am pretty sure I know how they got to this point:  Their goal is to improve, and their learning process is collaborative. Twice a month they gather with other students and adults to work on their communication skills.  In those sessions, they routinely give and get feedback just like breathing– in and out, give and get—and the results are exceptional.

…I wonder what would happen if adults in the workplace did the same thing

What is Common Sense Anyway?

It’s common sense, anyone can do it.

That’s what the mechanic told me when I asked him what special skills it took to keep a 40-yard long bohemeth of a machine running. The machine made GE light bulbs and had thousands upon thousands of moving parts.  His job was to keep the machine tuned and running in perfect order – plain and simple. Except, it really wasn’t simple at all.

One Man’s Trash is…

My job was to figure out what skills were needed to do the job so GE could hire more people like him. But he wasn’t of much help. Common sense my foot! This expert mechanic had mastered so much, but he was aware of so little of of it. He just knew it, and it seemed all so simple. I didn’t know “it,” but I wanted to, and GE was counting on me.  One man’s trash is another man’s treasure.

The mechanic is not alone. Workplaces are filled with people who don’t know what they know. As result, organizations often have a difficult time developing younger, less experienced workers. And right now, experienced people are walking out the company door to retirement and taking their common sense with them.  One man’s trash is a company’s treasure.

Developing Common Sense

When I met this mechanic in the back  in the 80’s, I was convinced that he was wrong. I was convinced that he possessed inherent abilities that made him so good at his job.  But now, I can appreciate his perspective.  I still believe that he had a certain set of natural intelligences that “funded” his performance, but I also know a little more about what he called “common sense.”   Now this topic is one my favorite things to talk about. So, when I had the chance to make a series of training videos for my alma mater, West Chester University, I decided to make them about “Developing Good Judgement” otherwise known as common sense.

Developing a Camera Sense

The link below will take you to my first video, shot in one take back at West Chester University. I am looking forward to making several more, and to developing more “camera sense” as I do.