Quotes About Feedback

In a Wizard of Oz test, customers believe they are interacting with the actual product, but behind the scenes human beings are doing the work.

The sandbox also promotes rapid iteration. When people have a chance to see a project through from end to end and the work is done in small batches and delivers a clear verdict quickly, they benefit from the power of feedback. Each time they fail to move the numbers, they have a real opportunity to act on their findings immediately. Thus, these teams tend to converge on optimal solutions rapidly even if they start out with really bad ideas.

Companies that cannot bring themselves to pivot to a new direction on the basis of feedback from the marketplace can get stuck in the land of the living dead, neither growing enough nor dying, consuming resources and commitment from employees and other stakeholders but not moving ahead.

What if we found ourselves building something that nobody wanted? In that case what did it matter if we did it on time and on budget? When I went home at the end of a day's work, the only things I knew for sure were that I had kept people busy and spent money that day.

This is an old direct marketing technique in which customers are given the opportunity to preorder a product that has not yet been built. A smoke test measures only one thing: whether customers are interested in trying a product. By itself, this is insufficient to validate an entire growth model. Nonetheless, it can be very useful to get feedback on this assumption before committing more money and other resources to the product.

Validated learning

We really did have customers in those early days—true visionary early adopters—and we often talked to them and asked for their feedback. But we emphatically did not do what they said. We viewed their input as only one source of information about our product and overall vision. In fact, we were much more likely to run experiments on our customers than we were to cater to their whims.

Build-Measure-Learn

we figure out what we need to learn and then work backwards to see what product will work as an experiment to get that learning.

Instead of making complex plans that are based on a lot of assumptions, you can make constant adjustments with a steering wheel called the Build-Measure-Learn feedback loop.

Fire that customer," I'd say to the person responsible for recruiting for our tests. "Find me someone in our target demographic." If the next customer was more positive, I would take it as confirmation that I was right in my targeting. If not, I'd fire another customer and try again.

The fundamental activity of a startup is to turn ideas into products, measure how customers respond, and then learn whether to pivot or persevere. All successful startup processes should be geared to accelerate that feedback loop.

make constant adjustments with a steering wheel called the Build-Measure-Learn feedback

BUILD-MEASURE-LEARN FEEDBACK LOOP

Users are wonderful things to have, and not just because they demonstrate that you're serving a need, that you've done something right. Properly cultivated, they can become co-developers.

manager's bill of rights," those basic things that you have a right to expect from your employees. Responsible employees: Are responsive to feedback Keep their agreements Manage their own growth Are "Good Company Citizens

Someone who's responsive to feedback would listen without interrupting, blaming, or accusing; ask questions for clarity; engage in discussions about next steps; and make efforts to change the behavior.

good summary: to hire people who are a good fit for your vision, your organization, and the job itself; to listen to them, challenge your limiting assumptions about them, and deal with them as individuals; to create clear agreements with them, provide balanced behavioral feedback, and delegate appropriately and well; to coach them to develop in areas where they have potential and interest.

You'll know if she's doing them right," the medicine cat called over her shoulder, "because she'll complain!

Larry had been critical of some of our actions as well,

A wave of criticism followed,

A few economists weighed in against our decision as well.

Critics are our friends, they show us our faults.

Praise to the undeserving is severe satire.