Stop craving the feedback that will never come
Stop craving the feedback that will never come
Issue 5
After 12 years of running Sendible, I could count on one hand the number of times someone gave me feedback.
Then a funny thing happened. I sold the company and the feedback I had always craved came flooding in.
I get it. No-one wants to tell the CEO how they’re doing. And you can’t force them to.
But, a chat with Hiten Shah (founder of Nira and CrazyEgg), helped me realise that feedback comes in many shapes and forms. It’s very seldom direct.
And you don’t need direct feedback to know if you’re doing a great job. The signals are already there.
For me it was high staff retention, strong team engagement, and thousands of happy customers. For you it could be something else.
So, if you’re not getting the feedback you crave, whether it be from your team or your manager, define the key metrics that matter, seek out those signals, and let them be your guide.
Like me, you’ll quickly discover that the validation you were seeking was right in front of you all along.
– GH
⭐️ 5 Stars Only
⭐️ What I’m reading 👀
I’m currently reading Working Backwards by Colin Bryar and Bill Carr. I’ve always been inspired by Jeff Bezos and how he ran Amazon. I adopted a lot of his principles at Sendible. This book is an insider's breakdown of Amazon's approach to culture, leadership, and best practices from two long-time, top-level Amazon executives.
⭐️ What I’m listening to 🎧
My First Million, Ep. 197 with Dharmesh Shah. The framework that Dharmesh shared explaining the relationship between time and money really resonated! Whether you’re an entrepreneur or a Hubspot fan, I highly recommend this episode.
⭐️ A thought I’m pondering 💭
Sure, you can go spend all your marketing $$$ on ads. But the very thing you’re chasing can’t be bought. Like trust and attention.
⭐️ A tool I’m loving 💻
I’ve been playing around with CopyAI to come up with content ideas for the Coming Soon page of my new startup. I have to say, I’m suitably impressed.
You add a line of copy, and it uses AI (powered by GPT-3) to suggest alternatives. It’s uncanny how well this AI understands my startup idea!
The first time you use CopyAI, it's natural to have a moment of shock at how good the copy is. Give it a try and let me know what you think!
⭐️ My favourite podcast clips 🎙
I’ve been recording loads of guest interviews on Unscalable.fm with hugely successful entrepreneurs such as Rand Fishkin, Hiten Shah, Eric Siu and others.
I’ve decided to extract the best bits and collate them into a playlist on my YouTube channel here. Feel free to subscribe so you don’t miss any.
This clip from my interview with Ryan Born, CEO of Cloud Campaign, was one of my recent favourites. He talks about the tactics they used to acquire their first few customers. It’s so good, I’m stealing the idea for my next startup! 😊