- Short
- Emotion driven
- "Shallow"
- Useful in the moment
- Usually forgotten
- In an exchange
- Emotion driven
- May be recorded
- May be remembered
Within a week or so i.e. Sunday newspaper
- Reflective
- Placed in some context
- Remembered - maybe raw - emotion
- Considered writing
- Will be recorded and remembered
After a year i.e. Wisden Almanac
- Broad review across a range of topics
- Plenty of water under the bridge
- Difficult to get evenness of importance over year's events
- Bigger picture
- Seen as a permanent record
Societally now we see much more immediate feedback and 'of the moment' reaction. The BBC is keen to show us people's immediate reactions however raw and we are encouraged to tweet/getintouch to give our reaction to all news whatever our personal link to the story.
At work we can and should allow some of that to play out - allowing those who have grown up with twitter and facebook to "like"/"retweet" someone's contribution at work. We may also wish to remember that a thank you (even perhaps face to face!) can go a long way.
But we should not fear considered and reflective feedback. While I may check twitter to get the immediate reaction of one set of fans to news on West Brom's latest signing, I wouldn't use twitter to assess our progress over a season. I look to newspapers, the chairman, season reviews to get a broader considered view. To stretch this analogy further - while today's league table gives some insight into how the last match or two has gone and adjustments required to the team, I need to wait for the league to finish to conduct a full review and consider whether significant changes are required for the year ahead.
A former colleague of mine used to caution me against "escalator management": going up and down with the daily stats. It was wise advice. The best feedback on which to make big decisions is considered and in context. Immediate feedback is useful and essential but I wouldn't make significant decisions based on one tweet.
Brendan
www.bowlandsolutions.com
