I gave this presentation Understanding Feedback Loops in 3 Words to one of the San Diego Rotary Clubs. In it, I explain how we should view Feedback Loops, why understanding Feedback Loops matters, and the 3 words we can use to ensure we are building powerful feedback loops in our lives. These concepts are expanded on in Chapter 1 of my book, Make the Leap, available at maketheleapbook.com.

1. IN THREE WORDS
UNDERSTANDING FEEDBACK LOOPS

2. WE SHOULD NOT TRY TO DESIGN A
BETTER WORLD. WE SHOULD MAKE
BETTER FEEDBACK LOOPS.
Tim Harford
FEEDBACK LOOPS ARE A SYSTEM FOR CREATING BREAKTHROUGH RESULTS

3. FEEDBACK LOOPS CAN CREATE BALANCE OR IMBALANCE
WHAT IS A FEEDBACK LOOP? (CLASSIC VIEW)
Don’t Sleep
Enough
Feel
Tired
Sleep
Enough
Feel
Energetic
Somebody
honks
Somebody
cuts you off
More
upset
More
upset
Sleep Road rage

4. YOU = ANY LEVEL (INDIVIDUAL, TEAM, COMPANY, COMMUNITY, POPULATION)
WHAT IS A FEEDBACK LOOP?
Process
You
(start)
You
(end)
Feedback

5. MY FEEDBACK LOOP NEEDS 6.5 HOURS TO ACHIEVE BALANCE. YOURS MAY DIFFER.
WHAT IS A SLEEP FEEDBACK LOOP?
Your day
(+ Sleep)
You
(start)
You
(end)
Energy or
fatigue

6. THIS FEEDBACK LOOP CAN BE REPEATED 100 TIMES IN A 10 MINUTE COMMUTE
WHAT IS A ROAD RAGE FEEDBACK LOOP?
Interact w/
other car
You
(start)
You
(end)
Anger

7. IN TRAINING, YOUR RECOVERY CAN BE ACTIVE OR PASSIVE (ACTIVE IS BETTER)
WHAT IS A TRAINING FEEDBACK LOOP?
Daily
workout
You
(start)
You
(end)
Recovery

8. THE BEST ORGANIZATIONS GET 5 STARS AND CUSTOMER EVANGELISTS
WHAT IS A CUSTOMER SERVICE FEEDBACK LOOP?
Serve
customers
You
(start)
You
(end)
Reviews

9. SOME PROCESSES CREATE INTERNAL BENEFITS, OTHERS CREATE EXTERNAL BENEFITS
WHAT IS A ROTARY CLUB FEEDBACK LOOP? (SPECULATIVE)
Engage
community
You
(start)
You
(end)
Positive
change

10. WHY
DOES
THIS
MATTER?

11. DAILY GROWTH DOESN’T FEEL SIGNIFICANT, UNTIL IT STARTS TO GROW SIGNIFICANTLY
THE POWER OF 1%
Now Later
Growth
Time
Start at 1
1% worse for 365 days = 0.02
1% better for 365 days = 37
1.01365
0.99365

12. FEEDBACK LOOPS APPEAR LINEAR IN THE BEGINNING, WHICH MISLEADS US
FEEDBACK LOOPS ARE A MECHANISM FOR 1% IMPROVEMENTS
Now Later
Growth
Time
Exponential, and excellent (1%)
Linear
Exponential, but poor (0.1%)

13. STRONG FEEDBACK LOOPS GENERATE LARGER IMPROVEMENTS EARLIER (DOUBLE BONUS)
FEEDBACK LOOPS WHERE WE HAVE A LIMIT
Now Later
Growth
Time
Potential (your short-term limit)

14. FEEDBACK LOOP > LEAP CYCLE > IMPROVEMENT
FEEDBACK LOOPS CREATE LEAP CYCLES
Now Later
Growth
Time
BUILD LEAP SUSTAIN

15. QUALITY
RETENTION*
CONSISTENCY

16. QUALITY = EFFECTIVENESS + EFFICIENCY
QUALITY
▸ How good is your process?
▸ Is it effective? Is it the right
activity to generate the results
you want?
▸ Is it ef
fi
cient? Are you doing it
with the appropriate amount of
energy?
▸ Do you have a mechanism for
measuring quality and
improving?

17. RETENTION = WHAT YOU BRING WITH YOU INTO THE NEXT CYCLE
RETENTION (RECOVERY, REVIEWS, REINFORCEMENT…)
▸ How much are you retaining?
▸ Are you aware of what factors
affect retention?
▸ Do you have a system in place
to actively retain key
improvements?
▸ Often, what we do outside the
formal process affects
retention

18. CONSISTENCY = HOW OFTEN YOU REPEAT THE CYCLE
CONSISTENCY
▸ Are you repeating the activity
enough?
▸ Are you maintaining your
quality and retention each
time?
▸ Time is not measured in days
but in repetitions
▸ One workout doesn’t make a
champion
x 365

19. CHAMPIONS KNOW THAT SUCCESS IS INEVITABLE,
THAT THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS FAILURE, ONLY
FEEDBACK. THEY KNOW THAT THE BEST WAY TO
FORECAST THE FUTURE IS TO CREATE IT.
Michael J. Gelb
CHAMPIONS ARE THE RESULT OF CHAMPION-LEVEL FEEDBACK LOOPS

20. “MY PASSION IS SHARING POWERFUL IDEAS TO HELP US GO BE MORE IN LIFE”
ABOUT BRYAN
▸ Captain, UCLA Track/Cross Country
▸ MA, UCSD Global Policy & Strategy
▸ 10 years in tech (Apple, Cisco, NetApp)
▸ Lived in 4 countries (US, UK, Italy, Japan)
▸ Co-Founder, Go Be More Apparel
▸ Co-Host, Go Be More Podcast & Fueling the
Pursuit
▸ Author, Make the Leap: Think Better, Train Better,
Run Faster (Jan ’21)

21. “THE BETTER WE THINK ABOUT TRAINING, THE BETTER WE TRAIN. THINK BETTER, TRAIN BETTER.”
MAKE THE LEAP EXPLAINS…
▸ How improvement happens
▸ Foundational attitudes of high achievers
▸ How to build self-ef
fi
cacy, de-emphasize talent
▸ Purposeful Practice to achieve mastery
▸ Strategies for goal-setting and creating systems
▸ Re-thinking risk and making mistakes
▸ Mental models for better prioritization

22. “MY PASSION IS SHARING POWERFUL IDEAS TO HELP US GO BE MORE IN LIFE”
GO BE MORE
▸ Wear your goals
▸ Boost your commitment
▸ gobemore.co
▸ @gobemoreapparel
▸ Mental training for athletes
▸ Resource for coaches, teams
▸ maketheleapbook.com
▸ @maketheleapbook
MAKE THE LEAP
GO BE MORE PODCAST
▸ Olympians & Leaders
▸ Strategies & Inspiration
▸ gobemore.co
▸ @gobemorepodcast