The question is posed: Is negative feedback good or evil?
Answer: Good!
Really?
Yes, 'negative' is good.
Ooops: did I mention what feedback is? Generally it is a sample or portion of an outcome, or something quite similar but directly related to an outcome.
Here's the thing: 'Positive' feedback is reinforcing, agreed, but that may not be a good thing. The primary purposes of 'feedback' are to:
- correct behavior (not always, or even mostly, human behavior),
- prevent 'runaway' and chaotic responses,
- confirm outcomes as expected, and
- enhance the predictability of outcomes.
NOTE: providing feedback has its own jargon: We say: feedback closes the loop (the loop is from outcome back to the source that drives the outcomes), or the 'loop is closed'
Now the tricky part: Strength and timing are everything.
To close the loop effectively, the strength (or amplitude) of feedback, and the timing (or phasing) of feedback has to be such that the feedback provides a countermeasure to the potentially errant outcome, the net effect being an outcome just as predicted, void of the bad stuff.
What could possibly go wrong?
Actually, a lot can go wrong.
No feedback at all is the worst of the worst: the 'system' is 'open loop', meaning that there are outcomes that perhaps no one (or no thing) are paying attention to. Stuff happens, or is happening, and who knows (or who knew)?
Timing errors are perhaps the next worst errors: if the timing is off, the feedback could be 'positive' rather than 'negative' such that the 'bad stuff' is reinforced rather than damped down.
Strength errors are usually less onerous: if the strength is off, but the timing is on, then the damping may be too little, but usually you get some favorable effect
Practical project management
Feedback for correcting human performance is familiar to all. Too late and it's ineffective; too much over the top and it's taken the wrong way. So, timing and strength are key
But, the next thing is communication: both verbal and written (email,etc). Closing the loop provides reassurance of the quality and effectiveness of communication. You're just not talking or writing into the wind!
And, of course, in system or process design, loops should never be open. Who knows what could happen.
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