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The Feedback Fix: Dump the Past, Embrace the Future, and Lead the Way to Change
The secret to giving better feedback isn't what we say - it's what others hear. Too often, people hear about a past they can't control, not a future they can. That changes with "feedforward" - a radical approach to sharing feedback that unleashes the performance and potential of everyone around us.
From managers and coaches trying to energize their teams, to teachers hoping to motivate their students, to parents looking to empower their children, people from all walks of life want others to hear what they have to say. Through a lively blend of stories and studies, The Feedback Fix shows them how by presenting a six-part REPAIR plan that spreads feedforward across boardrooms, classrooms, and even dining rooms.
Even with drastic changes in how we work and live, the experiences we create for others - joy or fear, growth or decline, success or failure - still hang on the feedback we share. The Feedback Fix makes a compelling argument for getting what we want by giving others what they need - all while rebuilding the way we lead, learn, and live.
From managers and coaches trying to energize their teams, to teachers hoping to motivate their students, to parents looking to empower their children, people from all walks of life want others to hear what they have to say. Through a lively blend of stories and studies, The Feedback Fix shows them how by presenting a six-part REPAIR plan that spreads feedforward across boardrooms, classrooms, and even dining rooms.
Even with drastic changes in how we work and live, the experiences we create for others - joy or fear, growth or decline, success or failure - still hang on the feedback we share. The Feedback Fix makes a compelling argument for getting what we want by giving others what they need - all while rebuilding the way we lead, learn, and live.
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Published September 29, 2020
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
August 14, 2017
I swapped books with Joe to get this one - I heard I was mentioned in it, and I love learning about how to give more feedback! Although this book didn’t give specifics, the big ideas were very valuable. Some of them I already knew, but some of them were “aha” moments that blew me away. The chapter about teams would be valuable for any middle school who uses teams of teachers (I made my first sketchnote for this chapter because there was so much to digest!), and the ideas of feedFORWARD made this book a winner for me at this time in my life.
September 11, 2023
Feedback comprises a crucial part of leading people under you. Your feedback to them and their feedback to you provide a means to improve. Yet with how it’s conducted in many places, feedback in the form of reviews and grades can induce more anxiety than improvement. Giving effective feedback and receiving effective feedback are separate but vital skills. In this book, Joe Hirsch seeks to make feedback from managers and teachers more effective by unlocking its creative potential.
At times, this book strikes me as spot on with practical examples of how to provide good feedback. Many managers came to their position through hard, skilled individual work, not their abilities to teach, but good feedback requires more of the teacher hat. Hirsch tries to unlock the secrets that good educators know about how to inspire students (and parents). He strategizes to focus on the future and unlock creative energy instead of just reviewing a fixed past.
That said, many times, Hirsch comes off as oversimplifying a complex problem of changing another person’s mind. He provides a couple of educational outfits as “gold standard” examples to follow, but at times, I became lost in the abundance of words. It seemed as though he was inventing psychological jujitsu rather than describing a real, concrete, mastered process. The educational examples strike me as flowing from inspiration in his salaried work instead of practical, task-analyzed data that can be imported into management circles. I would have liked to have seen these steps broken down with more definition.
Overall, this book pushed me to think about how I provide feedback to those around me, whether under me, over me, or beside me. Its main audience is the business community, especially managers who might not have time to get an entire MBA to polish their soft skills. Professional educators, whose abilities for feedback usually surpasses other professionals, might find this book lacking in enough specifics for them. Again, the section on schools seemed to need more deconstruction. This book did make me think more about feedback and will help me survey the literature more on this important topic.
At times, this book strikes me as spot on with practical examples of how to provide good feedback. Many managers came to their position through hard, skilled individual work, not their abilities to teach, but good feedback requires more of the teacher hat. Hirsch tries to unlock the secrets that good educators know about how to inspire students (and parents). He strategizes to focus on the future and unlock creative energy instead of just reviewing a fixed past.
That said, many times, Hirsch comes off as oversimplifying a complex problem of changing another person’s mind. He provides a couple of educational outfits as “gold standard” examples to follow, but at times, I became lost in the abundance of words. It seemed as though he was inventing psychological jujitsu rather than describing a real, concrete, mastered process. The educational examples strike me as flowing from inspiration in his salaried work instead of practical, task-analyzed data that can be imported into management circles. I would have liked to have seen these steps broken down with more definition.
Overall, this book pushed me to think about how I provide feedback to those around me, whether under me, over me, or beside me. Its main audience is the business community, especially managers who might not have time to get an entire MBA to polish their soft skills. Professional educators, whose abilities for feedback usually surpasses other professionals, might find this book lacking in enough specifics for them. Again, the section on schools seemed to need more deconstruction. This book did make me think more about feedback and will help me survey the literature more on this important topic.
May 8, 2025
A thoughtful book on the power and art of feedback, a vital skill for any personal or professional endeavor in which we hope to improve. Hirsch advocates for the concept of "feedforward," focusing energy on the future rather than the unchangeable past.
Beyond just offering a critique of conventional feedback methods, Hirsch provides actionable strategies that help transform feedback from a dreaded experience into a catalyst for creativity, teamwork, and autonomy. His writing style is accessible yet insightful, making complex psychological concepts approachable for readers from all backgrounds.
Appropriate for leaders, educators, parents, and anyone interested in improving how they communicate to encourage positive change. By embracing Hirsch's feedforward approach, readers can learn to focus energy on future possibilities rather than past limitations, ultimately creating more meaningful and productive relationships in all areas of life.
Beyond just offering a critique of conventional feedback methods, Hirsch provides actionable strategies that help transform feedback from a dreaded experience into a catalyst for creativity, teamwork, and autonomy. His writing style is accessible yet insightful, making complex psychological concepts approachable for readers from all backgrounds.
Appropriate for leaders, educators, parents, and anyone interested in improving how they communicate to encourage positive change. By embracing Hirsch's feedforward approach, readers can learn to focus energy on future possibilities rather than past limitations, ultimately creating more meaningful and productive relationships in all areas of life.
August 3, 2022
There were a lot of common sense statements and a larger focus on corporate than education examples but I found the book helpful and thought provoking as I look ahead to the new school year. I hope that I can apply some of the ideas I've considered to leading both my department and my students.
October 5, 2023
The premise of looking forward rather than looking back in delivering feedback makes sense. The book gives good steps for doing this, but sometimes they get lost in all the examples that are also shared.
April 4, 2019
A life changing experience
A life changing experience was this book for me. While trying to help people develop is essential to focus what they can control, their future actions.
A life changing experience was this book for me. While trying to help people develop is essential to focus what they can control, their future actions.
May 1, 2020
Great beginning on what doesn’t work. Was hoping for a lot more guidance on was does work.
June 14, 2018
I really enjoyed reading this book. I heard about it on an education podcast, and while there are certainly ties that can be made to education, this feels more like a business book. The anecdotes were interesting and there are take-aways that I will use in the classroom. Autonomy and specificity are important features of feedback. I also liked how he suggested a more forward-thinking method to growth instead of one just focused on what you had done in the past.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews