Formula 2+2: The Simple Solution for Successful Coaching

This is not Ken Blanchard, It is Douglas Allen. It arrived on time.

I picked up Formula 2 + 2 the other day because of the title. The book is a quick read of a simple concept, but profound formula, for communicating and encouraging people to be the best they can be. It is easy with my personality to find areas in which people need improvement. I have to work at the compliments and exhortation side of leadership and management. This formula helps me to conceptualize how to better encourage and lead those I work with in life. Not only do I plan to use the 2 + 2 Formula of feedback and communication, but I have already instituted it with my family. I am also looking at how this can affect our church in a positive way. Why do we wait until someone screws up, makes a serious mistake, or doesn't do what we ask before giving feedback? Building a communication style of regular and continuous positive feedback is a much better system for a manager. It makes it easier to offer course corrections, and its much better to build bridges than to burn them. The 2 + 2 system is essential to connecting vision and goals with tasks and behavior. I highly recommend the book and its excellent solution for successful coaching!

This excellent and fast reading book, written by a father and son team, contains some great advice for coaching employees and giving feedback that's really useful. If you, like many managers, dread doing performance reviews and put off difficult conversations until the last possible minute, you'll find some salvation in Formula 2+2. In some ways the framework presented is simple and intuitive, but takes some work in practice. The book is written as a business fable. Seems we are all learning more from stories than ever. The tale begins with an introduction to a harried manager Pauline, and her staff who are responsible for sales at their organization. Pauline has the usual duties of a manager, with all the bureaucracy and effort that entails. Managing her staff, Pauline doesn't realize how some run-of-the-mill activities as part of the standard corporate performance management process, actually cause employee dissatisfaction and discord. Meeting an outside mentor, Pauline learns how to apply `balance, timeliness, focus, specificity and follow-up' as key elements of success in giving feedback. A simply written, short and succinct text is complemented by interesting pull-out quotes, such as "feedback should be as much of a celebration of success as it is a correction of problems" and "whenever performance appraisals result in surprise, the manager has failed". While 2+2 may take some time to get right, it appears to be an excellent tool that the Allens have developed to help overcome one of the biggest issues managers have with their staff - communication.