Formula 2+2: The Simple Solution for Successful Coaching
by Douglas B. Allen and Dwight W. Allen Introduction by Bill Cosby, ed. Foreword by Ken Blanchard, co-author of The One Minute Manager
Published by Published by Berrett-Koehler
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Reviewed by Bob Pike, CSP, CPAE Speakers Hall of Fame
Chairman/CEO - The Bob Pike Group, Founder/Editor of The CTT Newsletter
Formula 2+2 is a short, parable-like book in the style of Ken Blanchard's The One Minute Manager. Its focus is on coaching, versus performance appraisal. The authors contend that the average performance appraisal is like a trip to the dentist—once a year, dreaded, and often too late to catch problems.
On the other hand, coaching can be "just in time" and focused on supporting people to be great, rather that correcting them for not becoming all that they can be. Formula 2+2 is the story of Paula, a potentially great manager, who is mentored by Audrey to implement the 2+2 formula, rather than focusing on performance appraisals. The book provides how-to's for the five keys to being a great coach: timeliness, balance, focus, specificity and follow-up.
These fundamentals give the key for providing the instant course correction and frequent feedback that is so necessary in today's fast-paced business environment. This affords a significant competitive advantage over managers who rely on the stiff, formal, all-too-infrequent performance appraisal that is often looked at as punishment—and a report card.
The book's goal is to help managers and employees alike view feedback as a positive, joyous experience. Formula 2+2 couples the giving of two compliments along with two suggestions for improvement, and it ties this formula into the five keys listed above. Good managers will easily leverage the information into significant results for their teams. Average managers will find that applying these techniques helps them stay managers by enabling them to do a job that they were quite possibly struggling with—and wondering if it would ever get better