Feedback from Field

This is something that I crave for these days.

I have been trying to impress upon my internal customers (Sales, Other practice heads, project managers) and my team of designers, developers, quality control members that they are my key critics who can give me the much valuable impression from their respective field.

However, often, I receive a muted affirmation or a non-compliance (I figure later through micro management) to the communication channels of either power point presentations, documents, excel based templates for number crunching or even short/long emails.

Johari window (nice explanation in this link) indicates that we need to be express ourselves (Free Area) and ensure that the eco-system perceives the same about us (address the blind areas).

The information process as per the quadrants is to allow for:
Expression > Feedback > Disclosures >SelfDiscovery/Mutual Enlightenment

Thus, Feedback from the field is the first key point that allows for closed loop communication. Going beyond this basic need is collaboration that allows for disclosures to open up hidden areas and through careful analysis move craftily to the open area from the unknown areas.

Wanna aim for perfection ? Insist on feedback and ask for critics eye review on the communication. Back channels or trackbacks are the easy routes that enable customers, vendors, project teams, client teams to work effectively as a true ecosystem enabling successes in business.

I rarely do get the feedback from field. Whenever it has come through, it has always been a revelation and innovations and marketing initiatives have been fast tracked making our maturity quicker. When a partner from the eco system takes interest in my work, then the work gets exciting and interesting.

Feedback from Field is a most respected job. Get that in place for all communications to be successful.