Archive for August 30th, 2007
What Makes Them Entrepreneurial? # 28
Their ability to listen feedback from Loving Critics
[This post is inspired by A Leader's Legacy book by Jim Kouzes and Barry Posner.]
“Pity the leader caught between unloving critics and uncritical lovers.” — John Gardner
Entrepreneurs know this quote very well. And they also know what action they should be taking when they land up in such situations.
The other day I was discussing with few VCs and entrepreneurs in a mentoring session organized by TiE. One of the common concerns raised by two early stage entrepreneurs was getting negative feedbacks for their idea from external members like potential partners, potential investors, potential employees, etc. And they were worried about how to handle these negative feedbacks. They started questioning the promise of their idea. They were unsure if they should continue pursuing the idea or move on for the next idea.
The first thing one of the VCs said to them was,
“You guys are lucky that you are getting negative feedbacks!”
It’s very usual that we don’t like getting negative feedbacks. Instead, we like those flattery comments from our friends and family. Our problem is, we don’t believe in critics and at the same time, we don’t benefit from loving friends and family. What we really need is “loving critic” – someone who care deeply enough about us to give us honest feedback about how we’re doing. I am lucky to have such loving critics who care enough about me doing the right things.
Successful entrepreneurs embrace this philosophy and seek for critical feedbacks from the community, from the team, from the customers, and more. They do ask feedbacks about their performance to their teammates. I still remember, my friend Vinay, President of COEP Foundation’s SV Chapter (It’s a Non-Profit Organization, not a Entrepreneurial Venture, but I believe that philosophy remains the same.) called me once and asked me if we can meet for lunch. I asked the reason for meeting, and he replied that he wants take feedback for his performance in last six months.
This is how you build the credibility. It is the foundation of any early stage venture. It is about doing things that you said you’ll be doing. Asking for feedback is the only way through which you will learn to align your words and actions over the long term.
That is where successful entrepreneurs differentiate themselves. They listen to loving critics, and get regular feedbacks on how they’re doing. Based on received feedbacks, they align their actions. And that’s how we see successful companies doing exceptionally good.
To read more articles from this series, please visit: What Makes Them Entrepreneurial?
