Process Praise Loop
Reward controllable effort and learning to build resilient experimentation.
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Time to result
- ~weeks to results
- Steps
- 4
- Confidence
- 99%
The guest contrasts fixed and growth mindsets, then turns the distinction into a feedback method. Praising talent can teach people that success proves a fixed gift, making later failure feel like evidence that the gift has disappeared. Process praise instead names controllable behaviors such as effort, color choice, preparation, or conducting a responsible experiment. Bartlett applies the same logic to innovation: his teams celebrated running the experiment rather than whether an uncertain market outcome happened to succeed. The loop is to define the behavior, recognize it specifically, extract the learning, and repeat or adjust. This does not require celebrating careless work. The method rewards disciplined attempts and learning while retaining standards for preparation, ethics, and correction.
Origin
The guest describes growth-mindset research and the failed self-esteem movement; Bartlett connects it to how his company learned to celebrate conducting experiments rather than only successful outcomes.
Core principles
- 01Talent matters, but development depends on what people do with it.
- 02Praise directs attention toward the behavior it names.
- 03Effort and process are more controllable than experimental outcomes.
- 04Innovation requires variation and therefore includes failed attempts.
How to run it
- 1
Name the controllable process
Specify the effort, method, preparation, or experiment that the person can repeat. Keep it distinct from the uncertain result.
Pro tip Make the behavior concrete enough that someone else could observe it.
Watch out Do not praise effort that ignored known standards or risks.
- 2
Give specific praise
Recognize what the person did and why it helped learning or execution. Avoid broad claims about permanent talent.
Pro tip Describe the process, such as how the colors worked together, rather than naming the person the next Picasso.
Watch out Generic praise provides little guidance for the next attempt.
- 3
Extract the learning
Ask what the attempt revealed and what should change next. Treat an unsuccessful responsible experiment as information rather than identity damage.
Pro tip Record one lesson and one next adjustment.
Watch out Outcome independence does not mean refusing to learn from outcomes.
- 4
Repeat the loop
Run the next attempt with the updated process and recognize continued learning. Over time, align motivation with the work required to improve.
Pro tip Keep evaluation criteria stable enough that praise remains credible.
Watch out Constantly changing what earns recognition can recreate outcome anxiety.
In the wild
Bartlett describes a team building and launching a website without knowing whether product-market fit would appear. Because the market result was not fully under the team's control, the company celebrated conducting the experiment and evaluated the process rather than treating the outcome as a verdict on the team.
→ People retain an incentive to run responsible tests and learn from uncertain results.
The guest contrasts calling a child the next Picasso with noting how the colors in a picture work together. The second response points toward a process the child can understand and develop.
→ Praise directs motivation toward learning rather than protecting a gifted identity.
Common mistakes
Praising fixed talent
A gifted label can make a difficult future result feel like proof that the person lacks ability.
Ignoring quality
Process praise should reward disciplined work and learning, not careless repetition.
Is it for you?
Best for
Parents, teachers, and leaders who want people to keep learning, experimenting, and recovering from setbacks.
Not ideal for
Situations where effort is used to excuse negligence, ignored standards, or repeated failure to learn.
From the transcript
“praising for effort praising for process is a much more positive thing”
“conducting the experiment not the outcome of the experiment”
“when you're innovating you need variation”
From the episode
Life Changing Lessons From 100 Of The World’s Greatest Minds