What if a book about receiving feedback helped us become better at making feedback usable? That’s exactly what happened when our senior team read Thanks for the Feedback by Douglas Stone and Sheila Heen.
Over the past year, the senior individuals on the team, Jennifer Billman, Ph.D., Chris Cox, Kathleen Lis Dean, Ph.D., Michael FitzGerald, Alyce Hopes, and Allen Toombs (who joined us in February 2025), dug into this timeless book, which explores feedback not from the giver’s perspective, but from the receiver’s. That reversal was as novel as it was challenging, and it led to some meaningful reflections about our work.
At The Rucks Group, we support organizations in using data to refine strategy, improve outcomes, and advance their missions. But we know that data alone isn’t enough—its impact depends on how it’s received, interpreted, and acted upon. In that way, insight is feedback—and often high-stakes, layered, and emotional.
Here are three key takeaways that shaped our thinking:
1. Delivery shapes reception. People don’t reject insights just because they’re inaccurate—often, they resist because the message challenges their identity, role, or values. As advisors, our recommendations sometimes ask teams to change course. We’ve learned that it’s not just what we say, but how we say it that determines whether insights lead to progress or resistance.
2. Trust amplifies impact. The book reinforced something we’ve seen again and again: relationships shape how feedback lands. When trust is strong, people are more open to reflection and change. That’s why our work always starts with understanding the people and systems we serve. Because sustainable improvement doesn’t come from “delivering data”—it comes from building connection.
3. Collaboration unlocks learning. Feedback becomes most powerful when people help shape it. That’s why we engage stakeholders throughout our work—helping define the questions, interpret the insights, and act on the results. Co-creation turns insight from something abstract into something personal—and actionable.
This book gave us new language—and new urgency—for something we already believe: the most powerful insight is not just shared, but received. It’s not just rigorous, but resonant.
