The biggest issue facing employers today is finding and keeping top talent. This is particularly true for startups and high-growth tech companies. Employers need a head’s up as to why employees may be on the job hunt. However, a single annual performance review or satisfaction survey will not be helpful.

Retaining employees

Research shows quality feedback is a key indicator of employee satisfaction and ultimately retention. However, practices like 360-degree feedback and annual reviews are dated, cumbersome and often inefficient because they address employee successes and challenges out of context and do so far too late to take action. As a result, leaders could end up with a disengaged workforce that is always on the job hunt. The solution is weekly pulse surveys to see how employees are doing, not how well they are performing.

Regular employee feedback is crucial

Relying on technology for regular, automated feedback is invaluable. <ul><li>Regular surveys provide valuable insight into employees' mindsets, which is different to the performance review in which employees hear how they may fall short.</li><li>Weekly stats can show managers where they stand compared to previous weeks. Perhaps seasonal patterns will emerge.</li><li>The right questions can address things like autonomy, flexibility, quality of life and teamwork.</li></ul>

Measuring culture and other intangibles

When the survey is complete, employees immediately receive a snapshot that indicates where they are thriving and where they are less than satisfied. The manager can use the anonymous survey outputs to drive formal and informal conversations with their team members and fellow managers.

Translating feedback into action

One survey question such as "What else can we do?" can cause employees to pursue a new idea. This approach can be particularly effective in younger companies which often attract more entrepreneurially-minded employees.

Invent and wander

Stashed ideas

Skip annual reviews and do check ins with employees instead

Practice is the foundation for effective learning. Yet, simple observation is more complex to do. Good practice is possible with the see-do-feedback loop:<ul><li>See. Find an example of how to solve a problem.</li><li>Do. Solve the problem yourself.</li><li>Feedback. Check if you got the right answer.</li></ul>

Practice is more complex than a simple observation

Decades of research show that experts get good by acquiring tons of specific patterns of knowledge. One specific study by Graham Cooper and John Sweller showed that when students were given examples where the problems were worked step-by-step and the solution provided were better able to solve test problems than those who did not get examples. The reason is that when you learn a pattern, it is less cognitively taxing.

See: The Power of Examples

Watching alone is not effective. Knowledge needs to become an automatic skill to be useful. Practice is not just for physical skills. A <a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2014-05951-001">study</a> by Jeffrey Karpicke and Janelle Blunt showed that students that recalled a passage they've read did much better on a test than those who re-read the passage several times. The best approach to learning is to see a few examples of the pattern to be learned, then practice without examples so you can perform from memory.

Do: The Need for Retrieval

You need to get feedback on your practice. If the problem is straightforward, seeing the correct solution is enough. But skills with gradations of performance or more subjective measures of success need a teacher, tutor or coach for feedback. <ul><li>Feedback correct errors.</li><li>Feedback can train your unconscious learning system. The brain works through rewards. It reinforces past actions that led to success and weakens those that led to failure.</li><li>Feedback guides your attention and motivation for future learning.</li></ul>

Feedback: Check Your Work

<ul><li>Languages: Notice vocabulary, phrases and grammar; test it out in a conversation, then check if you are properly understood.</li><li>History: Read a book, write a summary explaining the main points, then check back to see what you’ve missed.</li><li>Business: Learn a new management technique, implement it in your company, then see how it performs.</li></ul>

Examples of implementing the Loop

Practice makes perfect. But what's the best way to train? I review research showing the three ingredients to do it right.

See-Do-Feedback: The Right Way To Practice - Scott H Young

Bruce Willis has recently been diagnosed with aphasia, a disorder that stems from damage to parts of the brain responsible for speaking, writing and understanding language. About 180,000 people in the United States are diagnosed with aphasia every year. It can occur after a sudden emergency, like a stroke or a head injury, or come on more slowly over time. It can affect people of any age but is more common in middle-aged or older individuals.

Aphasia affects communication

Some people with aphasia may speak in short or incomplete sentences or longer sentences that are non-sensical. They also use unrecognisable words. According to the Mayo Clinic, people with aphasia fall into one of three patterns.<ul><li>Expressive aphasia: They can understand others but struggle to respond in complete sentences. They may say things like: "Walk park today."</li><li>Comprehensive aphasia: People speak in long, complex sentences that are non-sensical. They don't always know that people don't understand them.</li><li>Global aphasia. People have poor comprehension and a poor ability to form words.</li></ul>

Communication challenges

Aphasia is caused by damage to one or more brain areas responsible for language, such as a stroke. When the blood supply to part of the brain is stopped or greatly reduced, it can prevent the brain tissue from getting oxygen and nutrients. The impact can be immediate and lasting. Other causes of aphasia are severe head injuries, brain infections, brain tumours or a progressive neurological condition, such as Alzheimer’s.

Aphasia doesn't happen on its own

Symptoms of aphasia are:<ul><li>Difficulty speaking</li><li>Trouble understanding speech</li><li>Difficulty with word recall</li><li>Problems with reading or writing</li></ul> Treatment depends on the root cause. Some people can recover from a brain injury such as a stroke, depending on which parts of the brain were affected. Rehabilitation programs, including a speech pathologist, can help with recovery. Aphasia therapy helps people with aphasia to use their remaining language abilities, restore language abilities, and learn other ways of communicating, such as gestures, pictures, or the use of electronic devices.

Aphasia symptoms and treatment

Bruce Willis is "stepping away from acting" because of the health condition. Here's what causes it and how it affects people.

What You Need To Know About Aphasia

Learn how to put your thoughts into words and make sure your feedback is getting the love it needs by communicating effectively and constructively.Let’s go through the dos and don’ts of written communications in general.

Constructive design feedback

When you’re trying to express yourself using just letters and symbols, it’s easy to miss oral or visual communication nuances. But there are a few ways you can fill that void. At Sketch, we use a frankly staggering array of custom Emojis. But you can also use animated GIFs, links to YouTube videos, song snippets, TikTok videos, and internet memes as effective ways to communicate and express yourself.

Letters are boring

While honesty and clarity are essential when giving feedback, as a rule, it’s better to flatter than offend. Being constructive and considerate with your criticism doesn’t just improve your product — it improves relationships within your team.Sometimes, the kindest thing you can do is to be direct with your feedback. If something someone made is bad, they need to know. But that doesn’t mean you have to be rude about it. Explain the issues with it while offering encouragement, and make suggestions on how they could improve it.

Be direct, but kind

In addition to being direct, it’s always a good idea to be explicit. Even if you think a word will do, don’t assume your reader will have all the context you have. In this scenario, being a little verbose is sometimes a feature, not a bug.

Make yourself clear

Something we’ve learned when working with people from all over the world is that, sooner or later, you’ll find yourself in a situation where you’ll be completely misunderstood due to cultural differences. You’ll say “oh, that’s an interesting idea!” because you think an idea is… well, interesting. Meanwhile, some of your British coworkers might think you’re being a passive-aggressive jerk.

It’s a small, but diverse world

While shared cultural knowledge can help speed things up when everyone understands the context, internationally compliant communication can be more challenging. Pay attention to subtle (and not so subtle) differences between cultures when it comes to the meaning of words.If you want to keep it simple, follow this simple rule: always provide extra context where possible.

Provide Context In Any Communication

Save yourself a headache by making sure everyone knows exactly the kind of feedback you’re looking for.When giving design feedback: make sure you’re addressing the right issues. If a designer made their needs clear when asking for feedback, stick to those. If they did not, double-check with them and ask for clarification. When asking for feedback: be explicit about the state of your design, and share what you need and what you don’t

Feedback With Context

Asking good questions and actively listening to the answers to those questions are two key skills for giving great design feedback.When giving design feedback: you’ll be tempted to comment on the current state of things, sometimes missing important information about an element’s context in the wider design. When receiving design feedback: even if some of the questions sound too obvious — embrace them. Remember the other stakeholders are less familiar with the context, and you may have assumed things that aren’t clear to them — or your end-users.

Ask, don’t assume

Designs often have a lot of stakeholders. You could be a design manager who needs to review some work in progress or even a developer who needs to communicate the technical implications of a design proposal. When giving design feedback: every member of the team brings a unique perspective to a design. Focus on how the design proposal addresses the problem you and a designer are trying to tackle together. When receiving design feedback: sometimes, the best design feedback will come from non-designers. Keep your eyes and ears open, and try to keep a zen mind.

Great feedback can come from anyone

One of the advantages of working asynchronously is you don’t have to give feedback immediately. This won’t be the case always, but whenever possible take a bit of extra time with feedback.When giving design feedback: Use the time as an opportunity to separate yourself from your daily grind and focus now on what you’re trying to convey, and how you’re saying it. Giving reactionary feedback on the spot won’t be as useful as thoughtful, measured feedback. Write and reread.

Take your time with feedback, don’t improvise

In case we didn’t drive the point home enough when we told you to be considerate, it’s essential that you also praise all the good you see. We’re not talking about the old and tired ‘shit sandwich’ technique here. We’re talking about a real, honest, lets-celebrate-good-design attitude.  When giving design feedback: don’t limit yourself to giving feedback on the things people need to improve in a design. Also mention what’s working, what you like, or what you think was a good solution to a particularly tricky problem. Be the change you want to see in the world. Starting with what you write.

Celebrate the good

Learn how to put your thoughts into words and make sure your feedback is getting the love it needs by communicating effectively and constructively

How to give constructive design feedback

"I think that's where we get it wrong, is that we think any bit of information is meaning that we are less than as a person or that we are unworthy or unfit or incapable. When really, feedback is just information, and you have the power to decide what you do with it."

Remember that you don't have to use every bit of feedback that comes to you.So if you get some feedback that you don't think is relevant? You don't have to take it in.

The power is yours

Consider the source, impact, frequency, and trends of the feedback so that you can make a decision about how you want to incorporate it (or ignore it.)

Remember the acronym SIFT

Ask for time if you need it so you can process the feedback you're getting. And take notes, or ask the other person for notes so that you can revisit the feedback later on.

Ask for time and take notes to review later

Check in as the feedback is coming by repeating back and affirming what you've heard.Active listening gives you a break to process so that you can hear the truth that might be in the feedback without getting so defensive.

Practice active listening

<ul><li>Observe, probe, express how you feel, and then decide on the next steps. </li><li>Check in on how your body is feeling. </li><li>Ask follow-up questions that can clarify the path forward. </li><li>Express how you genuinely feel.</li><li>Then, decide what the next steps are for you.</li></ul>

Stay OPEN

Receiving feedback doesn't necessarily have to be terrifying, according to Shanita Williams, a feedback coach, professor and author of Feedback Mentality.In this episode, Williams and Stacy-Marie Ishmael, a writer and editor, provide five tips to make receiving feedback a little less scary and something that's just part of doing the work.

Receiving Feedback Doesn't Have To Be Scary. Here's How You Can Get Most Out Of It : Life Kit

Good feedback is necessary to grow one in a career. But too many of us receive unhelpful and meaningless advice.
Bad feedback falls into two categories, namely empty praise and vague criticism. People need specific feedback so that they know what they should continue doing because it's working, or what they should adjust because it's not working.

Unhelpful feedback

<ul><li>"Great job" is not helpful, because it is not tied to a specific outcome. A person needs to know how their great job had an impact. Managers should give a specific example of what the person did well.</li><li>"I don't like that." Good criticism will let them know what specifically went wrong and how they can improve.</li><li>"You need to work on your attitude." Feedback focused on the person or the person's personality, and not the work, is problematic.</li></ul>

Meaningless criticism

How the message is delivered is essential as not everyone likes to hear it the same way. Managers should be sensitive to where they do it. For example, you may feel it's wonderful to recognise a person publicly, but they may hate it because they feel embarrassed. It's also a mistake to publicly criticise a group when the message is intended for one person.

Feedback can be right, but still be wrong

These three phrases should be banned from performance reviews forever.

The Worst, Most Meaningless Feedback People Get At Work

Pythagoras, Euclid and Ptolemy thought that light moved in straight lines. They also believed the eye emitted visual rays, like feelers, that touched the object and created the sensation of sight. <ul><li>If you drop a needle, it takes a while before you spot it. In the 3rd Century BC, Euclid thought that this delay in vision is caused by the visual ray that is yet to touch the object.</li><li>The idea was rejected by Ptolemy the Second in the 10th Century. He thought something emitted by an object (like the sun) must have entered the eye.</li></ul>

Ancient ideas about light

Self Improvement

Leonardo da Vinci thought the eye is a camera obscura into which light rays penetrate through the pupil and project an inverted image on the back of the eye.  This idea became the dominant model of human vision in the 17th Century.

Leonardo da Vinci's ideas on light and vision

Huygens proposed the undulatory theory in 1678: light transmitted as waves. Light waves spread in different directions from a light source, and the retina detected their vibrations. In contrast, Isaac Newton favoured the corpuscular theory: Light as particles. Light rays spread from a light source in a stream of tiny particles or 'corpuscles', shooting through space, and were detected by their impact on the retina.

Two theories of light: particle and wave

Light does not appear to bend. Sound can go through crooked pipes, but light is not known to follow crooked bends. However, when light passes through water, the angels of incidence and refraction differ. <ul><li>Newton proposed that light's velocity in water was faster than in air. Once they enter water, the corpuscles were acted upon by a force that increased their velocity and changed the direction of the light. But Newton was not convincing as he could not explain the nature of this force.</li><li>Huygens assumed light travelled slower in water and used his undulatory theory in a simple way.</li></ul>

Understanding light through the particle and wave theory

Diffraction was first seen by Francesco Grimaldi in the mid-17 Century. When he shined a light through a small aperture, then passed it through a second aperture onto a screen, the spot of light on the screen was a bit bigger than the second aperture and had coloured fringes. That meant light could be bent. <ul><li>Newton claimed that the edges of an aperture interfered with the paths of the corpuscles.</li><li>Huygens undulatory theory explained diffraction better, but Newton's prestige allowed his theory of light to dominate the Age of Enlightenment.</li></ul>

Diffraction - the slight bending of light

Michael Faraday showed the inter-relationship of electric and magnetic fields of force. James Clerk Maxwell took Faraday's fields and combined them mathematically into a single concept: an electromagnetic wave with transverse electric and magnetic components that would move through the empty space at a speed similar to the measured speed of light. Different colours of light was found to have different wavelengths and frequencies. In the 1880s, Heinrich Hertz proved these wave's existence experimentally.

Explaining different colours in light

<ul><li>In 1905, Einstein proposed returning to Newton's corpuscular theory in a modern form. Instead of corpuscles, there were now light 'quanta' (or photons.)</li><li>In 1900, Max Planck proposed that the electromagnetic spectra from red-hot items could be explained only if radiation could be emitted or absorbed in small packets or 'quanta.' Einstein added that light itself was quantised.</li></ul> Physicists today have to accept that light behaves as both a particle and a wave. But its underlying physical nature is still mysterious.

Photons

The nature of light puzzled some of humanity’s greatest thinkers for 2,000 years, behaving like a wave in certain conditions and as a particle in others.

How the brightest minds in science – from Einstein to Da Vinci – revealed the nature of light

Our daily lives are filled with ambition, deadlines and competition.
<ul>
<li>It is taught to us that we have to strive for everything: accomplishments, prosperity, or happiness.</li>
<li>We have to do stuff: act, think, eat, dance, slog, sleep or practice, trying to optimize our ways of being.</li>
</ul>
It is a never-ending rat race where the faster we run, the more we have to sprint ahead, as there is always someone ahead of us.

Striving Hard To Live

The word amateur came to the English language in the 18th century, making the distinction between the newbie and the professional. The amateur does the particular activity (painting, music, sport)without any spirit of mastery or competitiveness, making the pursuit itself the reward.
Once we remove goal-seeking or constant competitiveness from our aspirations, we come into the optimal experience zone, which according to many psychologists is akin to happiness.

Our Inner Amateur

In the state of flow, our attention is on a limited perceptual field which gets our full attention and investment, not bothered about the score, we are fully into the action and awareness of the activity, doing what we love.

The Flow State

<ul>
<li>It is often found that practising hinders progress and that real, authentic and individualistic mastery emerges when one gives up formal practising and gets completely natural and experimental.</li>
<li>The 10,000 hours of practice formula, popularized by Malcolm Gladwell in his book The Outliers, has the stamp of ambition and goal-seeking.</li>
<li>Our inner amateur turns the teaching upside down, and instead of ambition, injects fearlessness, spontaneity, aliveness and commitment to the activity.</li>
</ul>

Embracing Our Inner Amateur

When I rekindled my relationship with the piano and tapped into my inner amateur, I discovered a quiet room of my own

Feel free to stop striving: learn to relish being an amateur | Psyche Ideas

For centuries, religious scholars and philosophers have tried to find out the meaning of ‘awe’. It is generally defined as a feeling of being aware and present in something that is mystical and vast, and which we don’t fully understand.
Usually, something vast and dramatic can provoke this feeling of awe, making us go wow with the unusual experience. But apart from the size, this feeling involves an attraction, something that makes us want to accommodate or keep the experience with us, due to our changed understanding of the world.

The Psychology Of Awe And Wonder

The feeling of awe or extreme wonder changes our mental models, as we are dumbstruck with the new mind-bending information. It can be accompanied by fear, anxiety and delight. 
The person experiencing this feeling often has a memorable, beautiful adventure or encounter, that can alter belief patterns and assumptions.

Awe: Changing Our Mental Models

The wonderful feeling of awe has been connected with a decreased risk of heart disease, diabetes and depression. Other benefits include increased life satisfaction, better mood, increased humility, and a better understanding of what is essential and what is consumerism.
Awe makes us less focused on ourselves and more connected with humanity, or the collective consciousness. This has tremendous psychological benefits, akin to meditation or states of flow.

The Feeling Of Awe And Our Health

<ol>
<li>Limit your distractions by turning off your phone notifications or asking your loved ones for some space. You need to witness the world with awareness and clarity.</li>
<li>Treat it like a contemplative exercise, focusing your attention outwards with an open mind.</li>
<li>Don’t worry if you don’t feel anything. Everyone has a different definition of this feeling. You will slowly start to see this feeling of wonder in your everyday life.</li>
</ol>

Fostering The Awe Experience

Observing someone with an incredible amount of skill, talent or abilities and watching how the person is moral and courageous is a good start to feeling awe. 
Normally, man lives a sensual life, only for the gratification of their senses. Seeing people do something beyond themselves and for the greater good of society is a wonderful, memorable feeling.

To Witness Moral Beauty And Courage

Synchronized movement is a graceful, awe-inspiring experience. Moving together helps in strengthening social bonds and making people more cooperative and generous. 
Dancing, exercising, walking, playing music or singing together makes for a shared movement that inspires a feeling of awe.

Awe And Being In Sync With Others

A simple walk in the forest deepens your thinking, shifts your awareness and fills you with life-giving fresh air. Even a fifteen-minute walk in the park is enough for boosting positive emotions and decreasing daily stress.
An Awe walk happens when we imbibe nature inside us, talking to the living things around us and experiencing the beauty that we never noticed before.

Feeling Awe: Get Out In Nature

Singing in a choir, going to a concert where a moving song is being played, or playing an instrument produces the feeling of awe, especially if the song is complex and full of emotion. 
Making music together, like a band, creates the feeling as it also involves shared movements.

Feeling Awe: Listening And Creating Music

Visual art, paintings and museums have the power to provoke awe, as do movies which have stunning visuals and never-before-seen elements.
Monuments like the Taj Mahal or sculptures like Michelangelo’s David are unique and have always made people forget themselves, engrossed in the visual and historical details.

Feeling Awe: Visual Art

Religious gatherings, rituals, prayers and other festivals of faith are profound sources of feelings of awe and wonder. 
Religious people feel a great sense of selflessness and remember the events as spiritually meaningful and even life-changing.

Feeling Awe: A Spiritual Or Religious Experience

Encountering a big, new idea fills us with its vastness, and we experience ‘cognitive accommodation’ while trying to understand the concept. Ideas found in types of poetry, in quantum physics or the universe can get us to move into discovery and awe. 
Even when we see a child understand something and witnessing human development, we are filled with awe.

Feeling Awe: That Big Idea

The beautiful miracle of pregnancy and birth, which shifts towards eventual and inevitable death can be a feeling of awe, even though it is sometimes psychologically complex for many of us. 
Life and death are fundamental, and just like the stars, moon, sun and planets, are a source of awe.

Feeling Awe: Witnessing Birth And Death

Awe might seem an unobtainable luxury to many but, with the right approach, you can enjoy it daily – no mountain required

How to experience more wow | Psyche Guides

It means aiming to combine a few skills that are not usually combined.
If you associate two valuable skills that are even more valuable together (for example, computer science and a law degree, or math and public speaking), you will have a competitive advantage that allows you to reach the top of the earning power.

Being a specialized generalist

<div>Specialization makes sense when you know you can reach the top of the domain you are trying to excel in.</div>If you want to specialize and become a basketball player, for example, you have to reach the top 0,001% to have phenomenal financial gains.

When specialization makes sense

<div>Warren Buffett, the famous investor, stated that his most important investment was in Dale Carnegie's speaking course because being a good communicator (both in speech and in writing) highlights, even more, the other skills you happen to have.</div>

Warren Buffett's best investment

<div class="insight_content">This means to take the time and consider the projects you choose to pursue based on the skills and the relationships you will be able to develop that have the potential to last even after those projects will finish.</div>Skills to consider: public speaking, writing, and negotiation. These are examples of marketable skills that can be transferred to other areas outside those particular projects.

Winning even if you fail

Should you specialize or be a generalist? | Sign up for Tim's free "5-Bullet Friday" newsletter: https://go.tim.blog/5-bullet-friday-yt/ SUBSCRIBE: http://bit.ly/1dSzTkW About Tim Ferriss: Tim Ferriss is one of Fast Company’s “Most Innovative Business People” and an early-stage tech investor/advisor in Uber, Facebook, Twitter, Shopify, Duolingo, Alibaba, and 50+ other companies. He is also the author of five #1 New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestsellers: The 4-Hour Workweek, The 4-Hour Body, The 4-Hour Chef, Tools of Titans and Tribe of Mentors. The Observer and other media have named him “the Oprah of audio” due to the influence of his podcast, The Tim Ferriss Show, which has exceeded 400 million downloads and been selected for “Best of iTunes” three years running. Connect with Tim Ferriss: Sign up for "5-Bullet Friday" (Tim's email newsletter): https://go.tim.blog/5-bullet-friday-1/ Visit the Tim Ferriss PODCAST: https://tim.blog/podcast/ Visit the Tim Ferriss BLOG: https://tim.blog/ Follow Tim Ferriss on TWITTER: https://twitter.com/tferriss/ Follow Tim Ferriss on INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/timferriss/ Like Tim Ferriss on FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/TimFerriss/

Bite-sized knowledge
to upgrade
your career

Frank Morgan
@frankiem

Skip annual reviews and do check ins with employees instead

See-Do-Feedback: The Right Way To Practice - Scott H Young

What You Need To Know About Aphasia

How to give constructive design feedback

Receiving Feedback Doesn't Have To Be Scary. Here's How You Can Get Most Out Of It : Life Kit

Bite-sized knowledgeto upgradeyour career

Frank Morgan@frankiem

Skip annual reviews and do check ins with employees instead

See-Do-Feedback: The Right Way To Practice - Scott H Young

What You Need To Know About Aphasia

How to give constructive design feedback

Receiving Feedback Doesn't Have To Be Scary. Here's How You Can Get Most Out Of It : Life Kit

Bite-sized knowledge
to upgrade
your career

Frank Morgan
@frankiem