Design systems that learn from their own outputs.
Any system that cannot observe its own output cannot improve.
Action observation evaluation and adjustment form the basic feedback cycle.
The faster you get feedback on an action the faster you can adjust.
When feedback is delayed you may persist with ineffective behavior for too long.
Some loops reinforce themselves — success breeds more success or failure breeds more failure.
Self-correcting loops maintain balance by countering deviations.
If you cannot measure an outcome you cannot build a feedback loop around it.
Measure things that predict outcomes rather than waiting for outcomes themselves.
Direct results and other peoples reactions are both valuable but different types of feedback.
Your emotions create self-reinforcing cycles — anxiety begets more anxiety.
Habits persist because they create their own reinforcing feedback.
What you read shapes what you think which shapes what you seek out to read.
Identifying the reinforcing mechanism is the key to breaking a destructive loop.
When a beneficial loop exists invest in making it stronger and faster.
Long delays between action and feedback make the loop harder to learn from.
Real situations often involve several interacting feedback loops simultaneously.
Resistance to certain feedback signals it touches an important blind spot.
Do not wait for feedback to arrive naturally — engineer feedback into your systems.
Regularly check that your feedback loops are still connected to meaningful outcomes.
The ability to build and tune feedback loops is the ability to continuously improve.