I’ve been thinking lately about the nuance of feedback. Inspired to a large degree by the amount of
I like that
or
I don’t like that…
OR
You’re doing great
or
You’re not doing so great…
is the sort of feedback that I hear incredibly often in agile contexts.
It’s made me look for exemplars in giving feedback. Both inside and outside of software development and agile circles. And, I believe I’ve discovered one in an unexpected place.
I don’t know if I’d declare myself a foodie. But I do enjoy watching shows on The Food Network. One of them is a show hosted by Guy Fieri called Diner’s, Drive-ins, and Dive’s, often shortened to Triple-D.
In the show, Guy travels around the US and samples foods in various locations that reflect the Triple-D mantra. Finding great food in unexpected places.
So, what does Guy typically do when providing feedback?
He watches (and sometimes) participates in the food preparation. Often highlighting the extra effort that is going into the foods prep. What might be exceptional on the part of the chef’s preparation that a layman might not understand.
Then he describes the specifics of the food. Not in terms of good or bad or I like it or not. But the specifics of each of the ingredients, how the flavors play off of one another; balance across the components is also a common discussion.
And he almost always, particularly if he really likes the dish, talks about the most compelling aspect. Often using a catch-phrase “And the “kicker is…”, which identifies the thing that makes the dish phenomenal.
Here’s an example video – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v7CoLb7nHNk
And pay close attention to how he operates in giving feedback.
Catchphrases for Emphasis
Another habit of Guy’s is coining really interesting catchphrases that he uses to amplify his messages and feedback. They happen to raise the level of the feedback and the connection it makes to and impact on the receiver. Here are a few of them that he’s developed over time—
“We're riding the bus to flavourtown!" 'Flavourtown' is perhaps Fieri's most well-known phrase.
“This is Out of Bounds/ Off the Hook!” ...
“This is Gangsta!” ...
“This is Money/That's Money” ...
"You could put that on a flip flop" ...
“Holy [food item], Batman!” ...
“Shut the Front Door” …
Here’s some background info on these phrases—
What about constructive feedback?
What’s also interesting is his decision to not give negative feedback. His feeling is that the point of the show is to highlight the various restaurants, to give them a stage to show off on, and to accentuate the positives.
So, if he finds a particular dish unappealing, he’ll revert to very simplistic feedback. He won’t provide the nuance that I’ve shared above. Instead, he’ll simply say—
Nice job, Chef, or
That’s really good, or
That’s quite a dish, or
A simple nod of his head.
All very generic feedback, which aligns with just saying “I like it.”
Here’s some background info on this intent—
Wrapping Up
I thought a nice way to end this post would be to close the loop back to our agile / product development space. Here’s a supporting post from Mind the Product about LIKING things - https://www.mindtheproduct.com/if-you-love-design-its-time-to-stop-liking-it/ that speaks to how giving very general, high-level, vague, and not so useful feedback is, in reality, no feedback at all.
Hopefully, you’ve been inspired to watch a few episodes of Triple-D, watch a feedback artist in practice, and perhaps change the way you are giving product, and all types, of feedback in your contexts.
So, jump on the bus to FeedbackTown my friends!
Bob.