How to give feedback

Ben Horowitz - Andreessen Horowitz

Making Yourself a CEO

(original post from Ben's blog)

Ben Horowitz is one of the most well known venture capitalists in the US right now. He recently published a book (The Hard Thing About Hard Things) and is an investor in many successful companies like AppNexus and Asana. 

Keys to communicating feedback:

• Authenticity - Ben mentions how fake the "Shit Sandwich" method of layering in criticism between compliments sounds, especially with more experienced employees.
• Come from the right place - Make sure people understand that you're saying this because you want them to succeed. Make them understand that you're in their corner.
• Don't get personal - give feedback, and act decisively. Don't "prep people for firing". 
• Don't clown people - Calling people out in front of their peers only makes them hate you.
• Everyone is different - Feedback needs to be given differently to different people.
• Be direct, not mean - Don't conceal criticism <"There are no two words in the English language more harmful than 'good job'." - J.K. Simmons (Whiplash)> Offer genuine unveiled analysis when necessary.

Horowitz's conclusion:

Feedback is a dialogue. It needs to be a continuous, high-frequency, and properly framed conversation with everyone you're leading. People need to feel comfortable talking about what each other are doing wrong. Continuous personal improvement should be a cultural thing.

Takeaway: 

Feedback is a dialogue. Make it pervasive and make sure everyone is comfortable with it. It shouldn't be okay to screw up, but no one should be shamed into hiding it. Building this culture feels unnatural. You're interacting with people in a way that you don't in any other setting, but doing so improves the company by making room for improvement.