FAILURE FEEDBACK CHUNKING AND LEARNING

In this posting I will discuss how to review failures as feedback, understand how to chunk problems and build learning.

FAILURE AND FEEDBACK

Most of us are not prepared to deal with failure. And its perfectly understandable. Most of us grew up with the notion that failure is unacceptable. Even when we were kids, we were taught to love success and despise failure. However, not all failure can be negative. In fact, some experts say there is no failure just feedback. What does this mean? It means that you can actually use failure as feedback so that you will get up again and eventually achieve your goals in life.

Its important that we pursue our dreams and that we really embrace failures. Because thats what it is going to take to really put ourselves out there and be all that we can be. Using failure as feedback can be a very powerful way to steer into reaching our dreams and goals in life. One thing that you can do to fix your eyes on success is to put in mind that there is no such thing as failure just feedback.

PLAN DO CHECK ACT

PDCA (plandocheckact or plandocheckadjust) is an iterative four-step management method used in business for the control and continuous improvement of processes and products. It is also known as the Deming circle/cycle/wheel.

Feedback happens at the CHECK phase and what we do about it at the ACT phase.

Step 1) Plan = Establish objectives and processes required to deliver the desired results.

Step 2) Do = The do phase allows the plan from the previous step to be done. Small changes are usually tested, and data is gathered to see how effective the change is.

Step 3) Check = During the check phase, the data and results gathered from the do phase are evaluated. Data are compared to the expected outcomes to see any similarities and differences. The testing process is also evaluated to see if there were any changes from the original test created during the planning phase.

Step 4) Act = Also called Adjust, this act phase is where a process is improved. Records from the do and check phases help identify issues with the process. These issues may include problems, non-conformities, opportunities for improvement, inefficiencies and other issues that result in outcomes that are evidently less-than-optimal. Root causes of such issues are investigated, found and eliminated by modifying the process. Risk is re-evaluated. At the end of the actions in this phase, the process has better instructions, standards or goals. Planning for the next cycle can proceed with a better base-line. Work in the next do phase should not create recurrence of the identified issues if it does, then the action was not effective.

Planning for the next cycle can proceed with a better base-line. Work in the next do phase should not create recurrence of the identified issues if it does, then the action was not effective. Nothing here is personal, it is simply fact based, what worked, what did not work, and on the basis of what we now know, what should we do differently next time.

OODA LOOP

The OODA loop (Observe, Orient, Decide, Act) is a similar four-step approach to decision-making that focuses on filtering available information, putting it in context and quickly making the most appropriate decision while also understanding that changes can be made as more data becomes available. The strategy is applicable at an individual level as well as an organizational level. It is particularly useful in scenarios where competition is involved and where the ability to react to changing circumstances faster than an opponent leads to an advantage.

Many modern environments can be described as volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous, or VUCA. Surviving and winning in this type of situation rests upon making better decisions. However, improving the quality of decision-making is something most organizations fail to do. For example, if a company continues to make choices that do not see a positive return, they are failing to learn from their experiences. The OODA loop acknowledges this habit and provides an approach help make improvements.

Now applied to a variety of fields, the OODA loop was developed in the mid-20th century by the military strategist, US Air Force Colonel John Boyd. It was initially used to train solders to make time-sensitive decisions rapidly when there may not be time to gather all the information. The goal of the strategy was to execute the OODA loop process more quickly than an opponent in order to infiltrate and disrupt the enemys decision cycle.

Before the OODA loop can be fully understood, a few related concepts need to be introduced:

Item a) Maneuver warfare- This is a strategy used in the military that emphasizes disrupting the enemys decision-making skills in order to defeat them. Maneuver warfare revolves around the ideas of surprise and deception. The concept of the OODA loop was derived from the strategy of maneuver warfare.

Item b) Mental models- These are representations or explanations of human behavior that exist on a personal, internal level. A person can generate a mental model in order to understand their thought processes, decisions and consequences. Mental models are a part of the orientation step of the OODA loop

Item c) Situational awareness- This is the comprehension of all environmental stimuli. It involves perceiving all components of a situation, understanding what they mean and using them to make future judgements. Achieving situational awareness is crucial for most decision-making processes, including the OODA loop.

Item d) Reaction time- This refers to the time that elapses between a stimulus and the response given to that stimulus. A primary goal in the OODA loop is to minimize an individual or organizations reaction time.

How the OODA Loop works: The Four Steps

Similar to other problem-solving methods, the OODA loop is an interactive, iterative process that entails repeating the cycle, observing and measuring results, reviewing and revising the initial decision and advancing to the next step. While the process is not always simple or linear, the four separate steps involved are:

STEP 1) Observe: The first step is to identify the problem or threat and gain an overall understanding of the internal and external environment. In the corporate world, this can be equated to data gathering, where all of the information regarding the current organizational state, any competitors and the market is collected. The key point about the observe step is recognizing that the world is complex. All data is a snapshot in time and must be treated as such. Therefore, entities must gather whatever information is available as quickly as possible in order to be prepared to make decisions based on it.

STEP 2) Orient: The orientation phase involves reflecting on what has been found during observations and considering what should be done next. It requires a significant level of situational awareness and understanding in order to make a conscious decision. Since some decisions are unconscious, or instinctual, this step involves considering what and why decisions are made prior to choosing a course of action. When applied on an individual level, the orientation step can be done by creating mental models or mental rehearsal drills to place information into narratives that shape judgement.

STEP 3) Decide: The decision phase makes suggestions towards an action or response plan, taking into consideration all of the potential outcomes. This can be accomplished through meetings or discussions that are focused around creating a roadmap for the entire organization.

STEP 4) Act: Action pertains to carrying out the decision and related changes that need to be made in response to the decision. This step may also include any testing that is required before officially carrying out an action, such as compatibility or A/B testing.
These phases have been broken out for the purposes of explanation, but in some real world scenarios they might happen in a fraction of a second.

DISASSOCIATING (DONT TAKE IT PERSONALLY)

If you dissociate, you may feel disconnected from yourself and the world around you. For example, you may feel detached from your body or feel as though the world around you is unreal. ... Dissociation is one way the mind copes with too much stress, such as during a traumatic event.

Sometimes when it comes to failure or feedback it is good to dissociate so that you do not feel anxious or threatened but instead feel like you are watching yourself like an actor in a play. This allows you to watch and learn without feeling emotional.

Dissociation can be the relationship you have with a memory (as opposed to and event) When a memory is so upsetting that you are unable to work then you may feel stuck inside the emotion and story of the problem and you want to break state so that you can start change work.

If you can watch a set of circumstances (or reflect on a memory) as if you were a spectator (or perhaps the movie director telling the actor what to do) then you are in a far stronger position to take objective and calculated decisions to improve the outcome without anxiety.

BREAKING IT DOWN INTO CHUNKS

Chunking refers to an approach for making more efficient use of short-term memory by grouping information. Chunking breaks up long strings of information into units or chunks. The resulting chunks are easier to commit to memory than a longer uninterrupted string of information.

Imagine I asked to you memorise the following..

NASABBCITVCNNKGBCIA

Imagine I asked to you memorise the following..

NASA
BBC
ITV
CNN
KGB
CIA

Sometimes by breaking things into chunks it is easier to member then. Typically people remember phone numbers as groups so 07797-766-534 rather than 07797766534

The NASA, BBC, ITV, CNN, KGB, CIA became easier to remember when split into chucks but also because they have a meaning, a memory for us. They are not random letters but say something about an organisation and may mean something personal to you.

Breaking things down into detail and examining the meaning behind each element can be really useful. We become like Sherlock Holmes looking at the big picture, but then breaking down into smaller elements to understand the significance, meaning and any issues with each.

So, for example when discussing flowers maybe you want to chunk-down to red flowers, or maybe chunk-down to roses, or chunk-down to roses in bud. This can help pin-point misunderstandings in plans, decisions and conversations and quickly correct and remedy assumptions like buying Lilies on Valentines Day!

It is important to understand whether people talk in big chunks of generalisations (I want flowers) or small chunks of detail (a particular flower) since different people see the world in different levels of detail depending on what interests them.

Some people may refer to a red car, whereas others will refer to the make, model, specification and year.

This is an important factor in communication, conversation and alignment to achieve the outcomes we want and learn quickly from failure and feedback.

USEFUL REFERENCES

OODA-loop
https://searchcio.techtarget.com/definition/OODA-loop

Dissociation
https://www.nlpworld.co.uk/nlp-glossary/d/dissociated/


ABOUT THE BLOG

This is a series of coaching blogs that eventually will become a book. By blogging each item I hope to share each element in easy to read bite size chunks, maybe invite some people to subscribe to see the next posting and hopefully encourage some comments, feedback and suggestions which will improve the content for the blog and eventually the book. All comments and feedback are therefore welcome.