The Candor Premium

Steve Walsh describes giving a founder feedback on a pitch deck. He told the founder it needed work, explained what was missing, and offered to help. He also explained why the business was not yet ready to raise money and which milestones would make that conversation more productive.

That last part matters. “You are not ready” can leave someone with another opinion to absorb. A reason, a next step, and a way to judge progress can change what they do on Monday.

Founders often receive the softer version. A meeting ends warmly. The investor asks to stay in touch. Nothing commits either person to saying what would have to change. The founder leaves with encouragement that may be mistaken for interest.

Make the feedback useful

Walsh calls for candor that is specific enough to help. It requires the person giving feedback to do some work: distinguish a weak explanation from a weak business, name the evidence they would need, and admit where their own judgment is uncertain.

The same standard applies inside a company. “We need better execution” leaves each person to invent a diagnosis. “The last three proposals reached procurement without an agreed budget” gives the team something it can examine.

An observation is easier to challenge than a label. That is an advantage. The person receiving it may have information that changes the conclusion. Good feedback leaves room for that answer.

Inspect the work before demanding a result

Sales strategist Stacy Bishop describes an unhelpful response to a team under pressure: asking what they are going to sell and telling them to sell more.

If you're a sales leader, the least effective thing you can do in high pressure situations is say something like, "what are you going to sell? I need you to sell more." That is the least helpful response.

The target may be clear already. What the team needs is help finding where a deal is getting stuck. That can mean listening to a call, reviewing who has been involved in the buying decision, or checking whether the next step is actually agreed with the customer.

The manager can then ask for a specific change and return to it in the next review. This makes coaching more demanding for the manager, but also more useful to the salesperson. Pressure alone supplies neither a diagnosis nor a better approach.

Involve the people who will carry out the decision

Jennifer Fondrevay describes how the people responsible for making an acquisition work can be brought into the conversation too late. Leadership has settled the transaction before those closest to the work have had much opportunity to explain what the change will require.

This problem extends beyond acquisitions. A plan can look reasonable until someone names the vacant role, the customer commitment, or the system that cannot support it yet. If those facts emerge only after a deadline slips, the team loses time it could have used to adjust.

Before committing to a plan, ask the people doing the work what is likely to fail and what would have to change. Then show them what happened to that information. Asking for candor repeatedly while leaving every decision untouched teaches people to stop offering it.

There will be times when leadership must proceed despite objections. Explain the tradeoff and name the risk being accepted. People can work with a difficult decision more effectively when they understand it.

The standard is practical: after the conversation, can the person say what needs attention, why it matters, and what they should do next?