Issue 178, Part Time CEO Newsletter

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Hey, it's Dhiren 👋,

A few years back, on our weekly projects call at my other business, Cloudscape, I noticed an issue with what was about to be sent to the client, and I called it out. Directly and openly, because that felt like exactly what the role was designed for.

Everyone heard it. I felt like I had handled it.

The room went quiet for a second and then we moved on. What I did not see was what that quiet was doing.

Three weeks later a much bigger problem surfaced, one that had been sitting there the whole time. The team had known but nobody had said anything. When I asked why, the answer was honest enough to hurt my ego. Nobody wanted to be the next person called out on that projects call.

I had not corrected a mistake that day. I had trained my team to bring me good news and bury the bad.

A line put words to it for me this week. Give publicly. Ask privately.

What public criticism actually costs you

We tell ourselves the danger of criticizing someone in front of the team is that it hurts their feelings. That is real, but it is the small cost. The expensive one is what it does to everyone else watching.

People learn fast from how you react. When a mistake gets pointed out in front of everyone, the lesson nobody takes away is "do better." The lesson is "don't get caught." And the surest way not to get caught is to keep the next one to yourself.

So the hiding starts. Not from each other. From you.

For a founder wanting to build a business that works without you, problems have to reach you while they are still small and cheap to fix. But now bringing you a problem carries a cost, so the team waits. They hope it sorts itself out. You end up the last person to know anything is wrong, usually by the time it is too big to stay quiet. Then you wonder why you cannot take a week off without something cracking.
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None of this means you let the mistake slide. The standard does not move. What moves is where the conversation happens, and how you open it.

Ask instead of criticize

The move in private is not to criticize. It is to ask.

Criticism hands down a verdict, which makes the person brace and defend. A question opens the thing up. "What happened with the file that went to the client?" gets you the real story, which is almost always more useful than the version you guessed at from the outside. It also keeps you the person they tell the truth to, and that is the whole asset you are protecting.

There is one question I ask myself for where any piece of feedback should go. Does it need an audience, or does it need an answer?

Praise needs an audience. That is the point of it, and most founders give far less of it than they think. Correction on the other hand, needs an answer, and you only get a real answer behind a closed door. Put a correction in front of the room and you get the opposite of what you were after. Instead of hearing what actually happened, you get whatever makes them look okay in front of everyone.

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Your Turn

This week, look out for the next time someone on your team needs correcting. You probably already know roughly who, and what.

Before you give it, decide two things. Where it happens, and the question you open with instead of the verdict.

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📢 Dhiren’s Updates

I have been working on upgrading the upcoming Offer Engine workshop, and wanted to share a sneak peek of the Offer Canvas I've built.

When a proposal goes quiet, it is almost always one of these six pieces missing. On July 10, I'm going to help founders in the room build all six into one page, so they can sharpen their offer and get a yes instead of being ghosted.

Under three weeks out, and seats are limited. If you're in Dubai, I'd love to see you there. Register here 👇
​https://luma.com/lo7ppteb​

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Cheers