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I revisited my definition of strategy several years ago and realized recently that I hadnt written about it just presented it privately to executive teams in the context of my strategy work with them. I decided to rectify that oversight by writing this Playing to Win/Practitioner Insights (PTW/PI) piece on it called Revisiting my Definition of Strategy: Compelling Desired Customer Action. And as always, you can find all the previous PTW/PI here.Need for a DefinitionFor any field to develop, the terms used in the field must be defined. Otherwise, participants cant discuss the field intelligently, and it is therefore hard for the field to advance. I experienced that phenomenon when I joined the founding board of the Skoll Foundation in 1999 (on which I served for 20 years). Its stated purpose was to invest in, connect, and champion social entrepreneurs, which sounded great. At my first board meeting, when we were reviewing candidates to receive the Skoll Award for Social Entrepreneurship (which included $1M in funding for their organizations), I asked what I thought was an innocent question: OK, so what is a social entrepreneur?{"blockType":"mv-promo-block","data":{"imageDesktopUrl":"","imageMobileUrl":"","eyebrow":"","headline":"Subscribe to Roger Martin\u0027s newsletter","dek":"Want to read more from Roger Martin? See his weekly Medium posts at rogermartin.medium.com.","ctaText":"Sign Up","ctaUrl":"https:\/\/rogermartin.medium.com\/","theme":{"bg":"#00b3f0","text":"#000000","eyebrow":"#9aa2aa","buttonBg":"#000000","buttonText":"#ffffff"},"imageDesktopId":0,"imageMobileId":0}}I was relatively taken aback by the multitude of answers I got. Generally, it boiled down to a vague notion of a person doing good for humanity in an entrepreneurial kind of way. I asked if Mother Theresa was a social entrepreneur. No. OK, how about Steve Jobs? No. How about Muhammad Yunus? Yes. In due course, I gave up and realized that we had a vague definition that provided little guidance as to what was in or out.I found the fuzziness unsatisfactory, so I worked hard with the brilliant founding Skoll CEO Sally Osberg to come up with a clear and actionable definition of social entrepreneurship to guide our field-building work. In due course, we wrote up our definition in a Stanford Social Innovation Review article called Social Entrepreneurship: The Case for Definition, which has gone on to be the most downloaded article in the history of that journal and the most cited article in social entrepreneurship. Its popularity demonstrated that people in the field needed a definition of the field to work productively in it.Need for a Strategy DefinitionDespite business strategy being a much older field than social entrepreneurship, it still suffers from a lack of consensus on a definition. I see every definition under the sun as I observe and practice strategy. The most common definition is a list of initiatives which the company plans to carry out and is called a strategic plan. I am not fond of that definition, as I explain in my viral video (with just under 6 million views), A Plan is Not a Strategy. Another definition is an adjective connoting importance. So, strategic sourcing is more important than sourcing. Strategic HR is more important than HR, and so on. Yet another common definition of strategy is a dream e.g., our strategy is to become the best life insurance company in the world.These, and many more definitions floating around out in the business world, are simply not helpful. A list of initiatives is just a list. An adjective is just a modifier of another word. And hope is, as my friend AG Lafley always says, is not a strategy. My Original DefinitionIn the mid-1990s, as I did a decade later with social entrepreneurship, I leaped into the breach to attempt to provide a useful definition that could guide the practice of strategy. I think I came up with my original defintion in 1995, but the earliest slide of mine that I could find with it is the one below from January 1998 (if you look at the lower-left footer). That served as my definition for a quarter-century.Funnily, I was prompted to look for the origin of this definition because I was recently asked to work alongside a consultant who parroted this exact, word-for-word definition of strategy in his presentation without citing me as the source. This kind of thing happens frequently, so I was not terribly surprised. And the beneficial outcome of his plagiarism is that it gave me the impetus to write this piece. In any event, there are five important elements of my original definition.First, it is made up of choices to do some things and not to do other things. You dont have a strategy if it doesnt identify what you are not going to do.Second, it is an integrated set. It is not a list. It is a set of choices that fit together and reinforce one another. At the same time as I was doing this work, I was helping Michael Porter with his landmark 1996 Harvard Business Review article, What is Strategy? It debuted the idea of the central importance of fit and reinforcement in strategy.Third, the set of choices positions the firm in its industry. This definition was designed to complement the five-question Strategy Choice Cascade, which I created contemporaneously, and this is a reference to the Where-to-Play choice.Fourth, the set of choices is designed to create sustainable advantage relative to competition, which is an obvious connection to the How-to-Win choice.Fifth is the payoff of doing the first four and that is superior financial returns, which are both the reward and the proof that choices accomplish the third and fourth elements.My New DefinitionI liked the definition a lot, which is why I kept using it for a quarter-century. But about three years ago, I started including a modified definition (shown at the head of the article) in the presentations I give to clients as I work them through exercises to create strategy.Elements KeptAs is clear, I kept the first two elements exactly as they were in the old definition. Nothing changed in my thinking. These are both critical to a useful definition of strategy and counter to the conventional practice of what most executives and consultants call strategy. These many years later, strategy is still primarily a disconnected list of initiatives called a strategic plan. That is why integrated set and choices are so very important and are still the opening elements of my definition.One aspect on which I have elaborated is the choice element. I have come up with what those working on strategy find to be a useful test for whether or not they have made a strategy choice. A strategy choice is one for which the opposite of the choice is not stupid on its face. For example, a choice to be customer-centric is not a strategy choice because the opposite ignoring your customers is stupid on its face and will result in abject failure. That doesnt mean such a choice is not important. In fact, if the opposite is stupid on its face, then it is what I call an operating imperative it is imperative that you make that choice. But choosing an operating imperative wont generate advantage because it is so obvious that every competitor should and will choose to do it too.Elements SubtractedI removed the other three elements of my old definition and replaced them with one new element. I didnt remove the third and fourth elements because I no longer believed they were relevant or appropriate. They Where-to-Play and How-to-Win are both still critical elements of strategy. But this definition is meant to accompany the Strategic Choice Cascade, and those specifics are covered precisely and thoroughly in it, so I dont need either here in this definition at least I dont think so. However, for any practitioner using this set of tools, I would encourage you to link this definition directly and explicitly to the Strategy Choice Cascade.I could have continued to include superior financial returns in the new definition. But I didnt because after using the original version for a long time, I wanted to simplify wherever possible. And it felt to me that this aspect is obvious. If a strategy produces crummy financial returns, it isnt a strategy worth having.Plus, the added element below incorporates this financial aspect implicitly.Element AddedOver the past decade or so, I have been thinking a lot about why I am so committed to strategy especially when so many others (e.g. them and her) downplay its importance or even relevance. Companies have gotten so big, so rich, cant they do anything they wish? What is wrong with just asking every business or function what it wants, assembling that list, then funding each initiative and calling that its strategy?But so many big companies fail! Nearly once every two years of the 140-year existence of the Dow Jones 30, one of these 30 corporate giants gets kicked out of the index because it has fallen on hard times. It became clear to me that while they are big and powerful, and control lots of things, they dont control everything.A company controls how many employees it hires, how much it pays them, how many factories/service operations it builds, how many dollars to spend on advertising, how much to invest in R&D, through which distribution channels to sell, and on and on. The lists of things companies control is exceedingly long.However, the one essential element over which the company has zero control is the customer. Customers can take whatever actions they please unless the organization is a regulated monopoly like the Department of Motor Vehicles, which customers are forced to use if they want to drive a car. Normal customers cant be forced to do anything. Companies cant impose decisions on them.Hence, the task of strategy is to make choices in areas under the control of the company that together compel desired customer action. Generically, the desired action is for customers to buy enough of the companys offering at sufficiently high prices to earn attractive returns over the short and long term. If many buy but are willing only at too low a price, that does not amount to desired customer action. If customers instead buy at the target price but there are too few of them, that is also a failed strategy. Quantity and price are both necessary aspects of customer action.Happily, since I am a Peter Drucker fan, this view of strategy is consistent with his view of the purpose of business which is to create and keep a customer. (It is not completely clear that he actually included the and keep part of that definition, but I think it is logically implied). I see the purpose of the strategy that guides a companys action is to compel potential customers to become customers at prices and volumes that make the economics attractive.Practitioner InsightsA big enemy of strategy is fuzzy definitions that make the job of creating effective strategy harder than it really needs to be. Strategy cant be anything you want it to be. You need to embrace and enforce a tight definition to assist you in creating a valuable strategy.My latest and tightest definition has three elements: choices, integrated set, and desired customer action. An essential feature of the choices is that the opposite of each choice is not stupid on its face. It is an integrated set if the choices across the five questions of the Strategy Choice Cascade fit with and reinforce one another. And the choices must be configured to compel the thing the company does not control, which is desired customer action.If you ensure that you are guided by those three elements of a tight definition, you will be able to create productive, winning strategies.
Category:
E-Commerce
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has updated and expanded a food safety alert regarding possible Listeria contamination in several prepared pasta meal products. The extent of the outbreak is now known to have occurred in at least 15 states and has unfortunately resulted in multiple deaths. Heres what you need to know. Whats happened? On Friday, the CDC issued a new alert along with an expanded list of prepared pasta meal products that may be contaminated with Listeria, a potentially deadly bacterium. According to an accompanying CDC tracking page, there have now been 20 cases of Listeria believed to be related to the outbreak. The first reported case happened back in August of 2024. An additional four cases, for a total of five for the year, were reported by that December. But in 2025, the number of cases for the year has so far tripled to 15, bringing the total number of those who have gotten sick from this outbreak to 20. The most recent confirmed sickness from the outbreak occurred on September 11. Of the 20 cases, the CDC says that 19 have resulted in hospitalizations. Unfortunately, four individuals have died due to consuming food linked to this outbreak. What products are included in the outbreak? A number of products have been associated with the Listeria outbreak. These products have been reported by both the CDC and the USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS). September 26: The CDC said the following product has been added: FreshRealm held beef meatball marinara linguine meals” September 25: An FSIS notice said the following products were included: Marketside Linguine With Beef Meatballs & Marinara Sauce Trader Joes Cajun Style Blackened Chicken Breast Fettucine Alfredo June 2025: An FSIS notice said other ready-to-eat pasta meals were believed to be possibly contaminated with Listeria. Those included: Marketside Grilled Chicken Alfredo With Fettuccine Tender Pasta With Creamy Alfredo Sauce, White Meat Chicken and Shaved Parmesan Cheese Marketside Grilled Chicken Alfredo With Fettuccine Tender Pasta With Creamy Alfredo Sauce, White Meat Chicken, Broccoli and Shaved Parmesan Cheese” Home Chef Heat & Eat Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo with Pasta, Grilled White Meat Chicken, and Parmesan Cheese All the products listed above have various sell-by dates and other marks listed in the notices that can help determine if the product in possession is one covered under a recall or alert. Where were the products sold? The products listed above were sold at various stores nationwide. Depending on the product, it could have been sold at: Kroger Walmart Trader Joes Some of the products may have expiration dates that have already passed, and may also no longer be on sale, yet they could remain in a persons refrigerator. Where is the outbreak located? This Listeria outbreak has now spread to 15 states: California: 2 cases Florida: 1 case Illinois: 1 case Indiana: 1 case Louisiana: 2 cases Michigan: 2 cases Minnesota: 1 case Missouri: 1 case Nevada: 1 case North Carolina: 1 case Ohio: 1 case South Carolina: 1 case Texas: 3 cases Utah: 1 case Virginia: 1 case However, the CDC stresses that these are only the known cases and likely to not represent the full extent of the outbreak. This outbreak may not have been limited to the states with known illnesses, and the true number of sick people is likely higher than the number reported, the agency noted. What is Listeria and what are its symptoms? Listeria is a bacterium that can cause serious illness in individuals, according to the CDC. The agency says that about 1,250 people are infected with Listeria in America each year. Of those cases, about 172 die. Anyone can contract a Listeria infection, but the infection is particularly harmful for pregnant women, newborns, people with weakened immune systems, and those aged 65 or older. Symptoms of a Listeria infection can differ depending on whether an individual is pregnant or not and whether the illness is invasive (has spread to other body parts beyond the intestines) or not, according to the CDC. In pregnant individuals, invasive symptoms include fever and flu-like symptoms. In other individuals, invasive illness symptoms include the above plus headache, stiff neck, confusion, loss of balance, and seizures. Intestinal illness can include symptoms of diarrhea and vomiting. What should I do if I have the products included in the outbreak? You should not eat the affected food. The FSIS says the products should instead be thrown away or returned to their place of purchase. The CDC also has instructions on how to clean your refrigerator if it contains recalled food. Full details about the outbreak and the recalls can be found on the CDCs notices here and here and the FSISs notices here and here.
Category:
E-Commerce
A few years back, Deanna Conley had just moved to Newport, Rhode Island with a 3-month-old and 3-year-old. She soon joined a focus group for a new type of club forming in her area. This clubpart daycare, part adult coworking space, and a little bit gymwould fulfill Conleys post-moving needs: It offered community in a town where she knew no one, a space to work as a small business owner without an office, and affordable childcare. The cost of a nanny was really prohibitive for us, Conley says. Her older son had been in traditional daycare prior to the familys move, but Conley thought this club might be a bit different. I was really interested in and excited about this new idea of whole family care, she says, versus just childcare. The club eventually became a daycare-gym-coworking hybrid workspace called Haven. It opened in Newport in 2019, and has since opened another location in Rhode Island and one in New Jersey. In January, Haven announced its franchising throughout the U.S. It, and other companies like it, may change how parents juggle work and kids. Per the Economic Policy Institute, childcare for one infant in the U.S. costs more than public college tuition in 38 states. That, plus the reality that many people work remotely, makes the idea of a space that mixes childcare, coworking, and fitness needs appealing to parents. Thats especially true in a world where more remote work means people are parenting more in bubbles than in villages. While gyms such as the YMCA and Minnesota-based fitness chain Life Time provide childcare, typically they cap care at a couple hoursperfect for a workout, not so great for work. Haven offers a village for the price of daycarewith coworking and fitness opportunities thrown in. We can’t fix the high cost of childcare, says Haven founder and CEO Britt Riley, acknowledging that early childhood educators deserve their pay. But we can provide as much more value as we can. She wants to keep you in the workforce, help you feel close to your kids, [and] decrease your mom guilt. Reports found that in 2023, just 15.8% of business with 1,000 or more employees offer on-site childcare, while just 7.6% of medium-sized business do. Other spaces that combine daycare and coworking exist in the U.S. and abroad, but Haven, with several hundred members across its clubs, remains unique as a fully licensed childcare facility (for ages zero to five), meaning parents can leave the building without their children, thats begun franchising. (Other coworking spaces with childcare avoid the time-consuming licensing process because parents remain on-site with their kids.) Very much what young parents need In todays professional landscape, remote work has grown arguably more common than affordable childcare. Haven was born out of a need, says Riley, whod been looking for childcare for her 1-year-old and infant but couldnt find anything she felt comfortable with that wasnt too high cost. I got stuck on this idea that there was something else we could do. Having worked in marketing at companies like Patagonia, Riley used her business acumen to attract investors, raising just under $20 million. She recently tapped a former Patagonia colleague to head Havens franchising efforts. Though Riley says regulations for childcare licensing are extremely stringent to ensure childrens safety, she prioritized giving members the ability to take meetings elsewhere (think coffee shops or clients offices) while their children stay at Haven. Notably, Riley refers to Haven as a club (where membership costs between $650 and $2,500 a month) rather than a daycare/coworking space. The coworking space is just an amenity thats there for the parents, she says. Club offered a way to describe a community, Riley adds, where parents can look out the window mid-workday and see their kids playing outside, or pop into a dark room for a massage after meeting with an on-site personal trainer. Back in Rhode Island, self-employed business owner Conley has also relied on Haven for date nights. Her local Haven has hosted evenings in which members pajama-clad kids can eat, do crafts, and watch a movie while their parents go out for dinner. It felt to me very much what young parents need, Conley says. Rethinking the quick drop-off model Havens clientele includes military families, full-time remote workers, gig workers, self-employed people, and even parents who work at offices. Riley says those clients use the facility for a quick workout before bringing their kids home. Havent isnt the only coworking-slash-daycare in the game. MOMentum in suburban Pennsylvania caters to similar clientele. (Despite its name, dads account for about one-third of those working at MOMentums converted church building facility.) Like Haven, MOMentum grew from a need. Cofounder Mary Beth Thomas says the after school childcare program at her kids school was a mandatory paid five days, when she needed fewer. She was also looking for an alternative to the quick drop-off model in the morning: We want our kids to get used to the fact that their parents are nearby and they’re going to peek in on them, and its not something that causes anxiety, Thomas says. It’s more of a comfort. At MOMentum, which costs between $1,520 and $1,690 per month for full-week attendance, parents can join their kids for a music class, or eat lunch with them. MOMentum has just one location that offers childcare and coworking, and though Thomas has gotten inquiries about franchising, she prefers to keep the business local. We’re more grassroots, she says. We want other people to come up with something that meets the needs of their community, she says, and not something just cloning MOMentum. When Lauren Perrett opened BubbaDesk in November 2022 in Australia, she says there were no similar offerings. Coworking and childcare were seen as completely separate categories, she says. Instead of trying to compete with daycare, Perrett adds, her company pursued a new category that she calls close-proximity care integrated with coworking. BubbaDesks individual subscription membership costs up to $175 AUD ($115 USD) a day, and businesses like Canva and a large Australian bank have purchased memberships for their employees. (Haven offers corporate packages, too.) A spreading model While BubbaDesks model resembles Havens more closely than MOMentums, with eight locations across Australia, Perrett is concerned that franchising could compromise its standards, which are so important when it comes to keeping children safe and cared for. Quality, safety, and culture are nonnegotiable, and the integrated nature of our spaces makes centralized training and oversight essential, she says. To ensure Haven preserves its culture and safety standards, Riley speaks with all serious owner candidates personally. As much as she wants Haven availability to spread, shes looking to keep the ecosystem cohesive, with a 2-by-3-foot poster proclaiming its values at each club. She calls the model, per the poster, a blend of a wise mentor, a compassionate friend, your most supportive and loving family member. Haven started awarding franchises in the second quarter of 2025. Riley wont say how many have been awarded so far, but they go as far west as Illinois, with most in New England and Mid-Atlantic states. Even people in countries known for their progressive childcare policies, like in Scandinavia, have asked about opening Haven locations. For now, Riley envisions parents one day being able to travel with their children and work from Havens around the world. It’s such a beneficial way of looking at childcare as whole family care, says Conley. Rather than parents in this rat race, trying to figure out schedules and hours and payments.
Category:
E-Commerce
Hello and welcome to Modern CEO! I’m Stephanie Mehta, CEO and chief content officer of Mansueto Ventures. Each week this newsletter explores inclusive approaches to leadership drawn from conversations with executives and entrepreneurs, and from the pages of Inc. and Fast Company. If you received this newsletter from a friend, you can sign up to get it yourself every Monday. When Mary Beth Laughton became president and CEO of Recreational Equipment, Inc. (REI) earlier this year, she inherited an organization with a rich heritage: REI was founded in 1938 by Lloyd and Mary Anderson, who joined some fellow outdoor enthusiast friends to buy ice axes that were only available in Europe at the time. Since then, REI has retained its status as a cooperative (co-op)a $30 lifetime membership fee unlocks member rewards, discounts, and free standard shippingand now boasts 25 million lifetime members, 195 stores, and 14,000 employees. Laughton came into a company that was losing money and ceding ground to competitors. REI reported a net loss of $156.4 million in 2024; revenue fell 6.2% to $3.53 billion. To reverse the slide and position the brand to become the most trusted retailer for people who love the outdoors, Laughton last week unveiled a multi-year strategic plan that aims to leverage REIs strengths while improving retail and membership experiences. She spoke exclusively with Modern CEO about the plan. Evolve, evaluate, elevate, engage Its not about necessarily reinventing the co-op, she says of the strategy. Its about unleashing these assets that we already have and make us unique. But the reality is that we need to drive profit so that we can reinvest in communities and employees and back into the business. The plan calls for REI to evolve its culture, evaluate its inventory to make sure stores are stocked with a comprehensive and current product assortment, elevate its customer service and experience, and engage members. Were talking about being a more connected, focused, and trailblazing culture, she says, putting customers at the center, doing fewer but more high-impact projects, and moving faster. She adds: If we dont get the culture right, the rest of the strategic pillars arent going to matter. Differentiating the REI experience To combat competition from big-box retailers such as Dicks Sporting Goods, e-commerce giant Amazon, and newer brands with their own stores such as Cotopaxi, Laughton and her team are focused on differentiating the REI shopping experience. They are doing so with products that appeal to casual and expert outdoorspeople alike, while tapping into the knowledge and insights of REIs 9,000 retail employees, known as Green Vests in a nod to the uniform they wear. They have a lot of passion for the outdoors; they can offer a lot of guidance and expertise, she says. Shes also looking for ways to bring the Green Vest onlineweave expert advice throughout the online shopping experience. Those Green Vests also have their own expectations of REI. Employees at 11 stores have voted to unionize, an effort that began in 2020 amid concerns about worker safety during the pandemic. Earlier this year, REI and the unions that represent the workers reached an agreement that paves the way for contract negotiations. Were showing that we want to make progress, and were working collaboratively to get there, Laughton says. New vision, solid roots Laughton is well positioned to help REI get crisp on the fundamentals of retail and online shopping. Before joining the co-op, she ran Nikes direct-to-consumer (DTC) business globally, which included its more than 6,000 stores, e-commerce site, and more (she spent nearly a decade at the footwear and apparel giant earlier in her career). Before Nike, she was president and CEO of Athleta, spent more than eight years at Sephora, and got her career start as a McKinsey & Company consultant. In the same way that Athleta expanded its customer base with workout gear in a range of sizes, as well as styles suitable for wear outside the gym or yoga studio, Laughton sees an opportunity to make sure REI is stocked with items that make people feel comfortable and stylish while hiking or skiing. We have a thousand brands, and we can mix and match and outfit people in a way that they actually want to dress for the outdoors, she says. But dont expect the co-op to stray too far from its roots. We want to be on-trend, but we also want to make sure that were not trendy, she says. Because thats not REI. Fine-tune your search results Modern CEO is proud to publish on Fast Company and Inc. on Monday mornings. If you like what youre reading, please consider customizing your Google searches so that these outlets appear more frequently as top stories when you search relevant topics. You may add Inc. as a source preference by clicking here, and click here to add Fast Company as a preferred source. Read more: gearing up Patagonias founder never wanted to be a billionaire, so he did something about it Cotopaxis CEO wont abandon color in her quest to compete with Patagonia Arcteryx built an exoskeleton. Heres what its like to walk in it
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E-Commerce
Delivering feedback as a leader can feel challenging, but with the right training and awareness, you can set yourself up for success. In this article, industry leaders share the common mistakes theyve observed and practical tips that can help you communicate feedback more effectively and constructively to foster a more productive work environment. Focus on Behavior, Not Character When feedback judges the individualand not the actiona poor outcome is almost guaranteed. “You’re not a team player” is an example of feedback that makes an assertion about a person’s character. The receiver of this feedback is likely to experience a “fight, flight, or freeze” response because the feedback conversation has just become deeply personal. As a result, the feedback will not be heard by the receiver and therefore misses the opportunity to promote learning, growth, or improvement. Moreover, the leader has lost trust and credibility with the receiver when a different approach could have strengthened the relationship. Conversely, when feedback focuses on the observable behavior and the impact of that behaviorand not the individual’s character, personality, or worththe conversation looks and feels different. For example: “In today’s meeting, you talked over your colleagues on three separate occasions,” gives the receiver the context for the feedback and the observable behavior. “The effect was that half of the team stopped participating, which means we’re missing their input and we aren’t creating the conditions for our best work,” describes the impact of that behavior on the organization. When the feedback is behavior-focused, the receiver is better positioned to stay open to the message and is more likely to understand how to change their behavior in the future. Nancy McGuire Choi, Chief Operating Officer, The Nebo Company Use the ‘SBI-A’ Model for Effective Feedback Delivering difficult feedback is one of the most common skills we are brought in to teach leaders. A common mistake I see leaders make when delivering feedback is relying on the outdated “sandwich method” where they wrap constructive criticism between two pieces of praise. While it might feel kinder, in practice it often backfires. Unskilled leaders end up glazing over the constructive feedback and confusing people about the real message, making it seem like the issue isn’t a big deal. A far more effective strategy is the SBI-A model: Situation, Behavior, Impact, Alternative. Start by describing the situation and the specific behavior you observed. Do not assume you know their intention. Then, explain the impact of that behavior on the team, the work, or the organization. You may offer them a chance to explain their intention. Finally, offer an alternative for how the situation could be approached differently in the future. SBI-A Example: Situation: “In yesterday’s team meeting . . .” Behavior: “. . . you interrupted two colleagues before they finished sharing their points.” Impact: “When that happened, others shut down and we lost potentially valuable contributions.” Alternative: “Next time, please try to pause and let others finish before jumping in with your perspective.” This method keeps feedback specific, actionable, and free from mixed messages. Bailey Parnell, Founder & CEO, SkillsCamp Adopt Data-Driven Framework to Externalize Feedback The most damaging mistake leaders make when delivering feedback is emotional transference. This happens when the leader, feeling anxious or uncomfortable about the potential for conflict, unconsciously makes the feedback about their own feelings rather than the employee’s growth. Instead of a calm, objective conversation, it becomes an emotional event where the employee is forced to manage not only the feedback but also the leader’s discomfort. The focus shifts from the employee’s behavior to the leader’s emotional state, which immediately triggers defensiveness and erodes trust while eliciting in many cases an emotional response from the employee. The most practical tip to avoid this is to adopt a simple, data-driven framework that externalizes the feedback, making it objective and actionable. One way to think about this is, “Beyond the emotions, you are okay, don’t shrink from action.” I also recommend the SBI-A Model to help with this. Ultimately, this structure allows a leader to live the principle that clarity is kindness. By providing a clear, factual account of the situation, the behavior, and its impact, you give your employee the gift of awareness and a clear choice about the impact they want to create going forward. You owe that to your people, to lead. Beverly Flores, Founder & CEO, Thyme Out Consulting Balance Empathy and Directness in Feedback A common pitfall when providing feedback is failing to strike a balance between being empathetic and direct. To address this issue, I’ve adopted the radical candor approach, which has now become integral to my company’s culture. It helps find the middle ground between ignoring people’s feelings, which only strengthens misunderstandings, and being overly concerned about the emotional side, which may prevent one from actually communicating change and creating an environment for growth. We have an internal saying that reflects our culture: every team member can take any feedback but strives to provide the best possible. In this equation, “the best possible” stands for honest, detailed, and thoughtful feedback, and should not, in any case, be mistaken for merely pleasant enough to avoid conflict. The game changer for any leader is also being ready to ask for and receive feedback before giving it to the team. Such a first step boosts trust and maximizes the value of any input that follows. This approach also contributes to a leader-leader model, empowering everyone, regardless of their role, to contribute ideas, drive innovation, learn from mistakes, take 100% responsibility for the results, and choose an “intend to” perspective instead of waiting for instructions. Anton Pavlovsky, Founder and CEO, Headway Inc Allow Time for Reflection Before Correction The greatest feedback mistake that leaders make is addressing issues on the spot rather than hearing the person out first during emotional moments. When a caregiver commits a mistake, healthcare managers tend to move directly to corrective action, which leads to defensiveness that inhibits learning. Military aviation led me to understand that debriefing is more effective than on-the-job correction since individuals require time to digest what occurred before they can iternalize instructions. The best way to provide feedback is by requesting the individual to discuss their thought process before you give them your observations. When a nurse makes a wrong decision when prescribing medication, the prompt, “Walk me through your decision-making,” will help identify a lack of knowledge, system malfunction, or external factors. This approach has helped us retain 34% more of our staff in 18 months since employees feel that they are heard and not judged. Stephen Huber, President and Founder, Home Care Providers Address One Issue at a Time The most frequent fault that I commit as a leader is that I often present feedback in the form of a performance audit rather than a conversation. I will sit down with someone and lay out a laundry list of problems, throwing everything out there simultaneously regardless of the context or time. I learned this lesson the hard way at the beginning of my career with a junior developer who failed to meet project deadlines. Rather than addressing the pattern in the moment, I accumulated all the missed deadlines to review during our monthly check-in. Both of us got bogged down in the conversation, and nothing fruitful was achieved. My practical trick: The rule of one thing. Identify which single issue is the most significant and should be addressed, then talk about it within 48 hours of realizing it happened. Do not use the feedback sandwich technique. Here is what works: “I observed that the API documentation for the client project was three days late. Can you explain to me how that happened so that we can avoid this in the future?” Then be quiet and listen. This short-term intensive approach has reshaped my team’s response to directions. The reality is that people actually make changes because they are not overwhelmed by several areas of improvement in parallel. The discussion is not controlling, and each problem is solved before it escalates to more serious issues. Rahul Jaiswal, Project Manager, Geeks Programming Transform Feedback into Two-Way Conversations One common mistake I see leaders make is treating feedback as a one-time “download” instead of a two-way conversation. Sometimes leaders deliver feedback as a type of verdict, something they need to get through quickly, versus an opportunity to build trust, alignment, and growth. If the leader’s feedback feels transactional, the employee’s curiosity and motivation shut down, which makes their morale plummet. A practical tip: Shift from “performance policing” to “partnership.” Instead of telling someone what they did wrong, frame feedback as a two-way exploration. “Here’s what I noticed. How did it feel from your side?” This simple shift transforms feedback into a two-way conversation that helps the other person feel seen and engaged in cocreating the path forward. It builds trust, alignment, and growth, and increases performance, morale, and retention. Anu Mandapati, CEO, Qultured Connect Feedback to Future Growth One of the biggest mistakes leaders make is delivering feedback without pointing to the real issue and without connecting that issue to the future. Too often, feedback gets stuck in the past, focused on what went wrong as opposed to being framed as an act of service to help someone grow. Leaders may avoid conflict, downplay their message, or fail to highlight the one key behavior that needs to change to drive progress. However, people care about their growth, their development, and their impact. That’s why effective feedback must be more than vague commentary. It should be grounded in direct observation, placed in context, and connected to future outcomes. Done well, feedback answers three questions for the person receiving it: Why does this matter? Why should I care? And how will this help me develop? When leaders approach feedback this way, they transform it from a judgment about the past into a catalyst for growth and impact. Dr. Isabel Bilotta, Director, People & Performance, Deutser Provide Clear Accountability in Feedback A big mistake that I see leaders make, including myself, is providing feedback without accountability. Let’s say a direct report comes to you to tell you that they’ve completed a particular task, you have a look, and see that there are problems. Maybe those problems can be regarded as errors, or maybe you’ve seen what they’ve accomplished, love it, and want them to continue. Doesn’t matter. When providing feedback or other guidance, a good leader makes sure to include the who, what, and when. Who should do the work? What should that work entail? And when should it be completed? The “who” when you’re meeting with someone one-on-one is usually evident, but not always. Some leaders have a habit of speaking very passively and use language like, “We should be sure to do X, Y, and Z,” without clarifying who “we” is. Simple fix: change “we” to “you.” The “what” is usually pretty well-defined, too, but not always. A manager who says, “I’d like to see improvement in how you do X,” should be more specific. Better to say, “I’m glad that you’re making 40 sales calls a week, but I need that to be 60.” The “when” is very often forgotten. To the manager, it might seem obvious: as soon as practicable or even possible. But that begs the question of what is practicable or even possible. Prioritization is something that the manager should better understand than the direct report, as the manager should better understand how the work fits into the overall picture. “I’d like you to be making 60 sales calls a week by the end of this month,” is a good approach. Steven Rothberg, Founder and Chief Visionary Officer, College Recruiter Apply ‘Theory of Mind’ in Feedback One mistake leaders often make when delivering feedback is failing to apply Theory of Mindthe capacity to discern and interpret others’ mental states, including beliefs, intentions, emotions, and desires. ToM helps leaders anticipate how recipients will interpret feedback and their emotional responses, influencing whether they actually “receive” it or reject it. Most of us have likely been in a situation where our supervisor gave feedback that felt one-sided, cold, and devoid of any indication that they took even a moment to consider our perspectives. When this happens, we typically question the legitimacy of the communication. Leaders and those entrusted in their care co-construct meanings during feedback conversations. These conversations should be co-constructed dialogues, not one-way communications that violate relational trust. Applying ToM is critical to maintaining positive relationships an momentum toward goal achievement. I recommend that leaders conduct a “Mental Model Check” before engaging in feedback discussions. They should pause and ask themselves: “What is the goal of my feedback?” “What, specifically, am I hoping to achieve through this conversation?” “How will this serve the person?” “What might be influencing this person’s current capacity to receive feedback (e.g., stress levels, recent events, workload)?” After establishing their intentions and how the feedback will support the person receiving it, leaders should further reflect: “What is this person probably feeling and thinking about [insert the feedback topic]?” “What do I know about how they take in and process information?” “What do they need from me to trust that I intend to help them?” “What must I do to adapt my communication to their preferences?” After considering these aspects, leaders should open the conversation with an invitation to dialogue that frames the person as an equal participant. They might try something like, “Help me see your perspective on [situation]. I want to gain a better understanding of your point of view. What did you have in mind when [specific incident] happened?” Thinking through these kinds of questions stretches one’s empathy and forces leaders to imagine the other person’s thoughts and emotions before presenting their own view. This approach can go a long way in preventing misunderstandings and strengthening trust in working relationships. Sandra Buatti-Ramos, Founder, Hyphen Innovation Avoid Humor When Delivering Feedback Even though it is well-intentioned, trying to ease tension or make the conversation less awkward usually backfires. When feedback is wrapped in jokes, employees often leave the conversation uncertain about whether the concerns raised were genuine or just casual banter. This ambiguity can lead them to question if their work or mistakes are being taken seriously, ultimately eroding trust. In some instances, what the leader intends as lighthearted can actually come across as dismissive or demeaning. A more effective approach is straightforward, respectful communication. I recommend focusing feedback on specific behaviors and their outcomes, completely avoiding jokes or sarcasm. Rather than saying with a chuckle, “Well, that report was a bit of a disaster,” try: “The report contained several errors that created confusion for the client. Let’s discuss how to prevent this in the future.” This delivers feedback that is constructive, actionable, and clearly communicates the seriousness of the matter. In my experience, employees consistently respond better to honest, respectful feedback than to humor that obscures the essential message. Dimi Baitanciuc, Co-Founder & CEO, Brizy.io Request Specific Feedback for Improvement “Grow through feedback” is one of our company values, and we truly stand by it! We rely on feedback to build trust, hold each other accountable, and improve our work. We also encourage all teammates (especially managers and leaders) to develop a habit of regularly giving and asking for specific 360-degree feedback, both strengths (glows) and areas for improvement (grows). One common mistake I’ve seen leaders make is not being specific enough in their feedback requests. It’s challenging to provide meaningful input when the request is too broad: “Do you have any feedback about my work in the last quarter?” or, “Here’s a document; let me know what you think.” It’s much easier to respond to a focused prompt. For example: “From your perspective, what went well and what could have been improved about my planning and execution of our GTM Hackathon?” Or: “Do you think the questions I highlighted in yellow will drive a healthy debate between RevOps and Data on ownership?” Specificity makes the feedback process far more productive. The practical tip: be specific, consistent, and timely. Feedback doesn’t have to be lengthy or intense. Simply acknowledge the behavior and its impact, then follow up with a question or request. These quick moments of feedback, given regularly, build trust and foster a culture of continuous improvement. Over time, both leaders and their teams grow stronger because feedback becomes not a rare event, but a normal part of how you work together. Julianna Kobs, Executive Business Partner, Zapier Tailor Feedback to Project Stage One of the biggest mistakes I’ve seen leaders make is giving feedback that isn’t appropriate to the stage of the project. Feedback during the brainstorming phase should look very different from feedback given on a project that is mid-stage or near completion. To be constructive, leaders need to understand the timelines their team members are working under. A team member might be juggling multiple deadlines, coordinating efforts with others, or navigating variables outside their control. For example, feedback suggesting a major overhaul should take into account the time and opportunity cost involved, particularly if the person is accountable to other stakeholders. On the other hand, feedback that is overly narrow or prescriptive when a project still needs big-picture direction can be just as unhelpful. Surface-level details may be the first things to stand out, but effective leaders know how to prioritize feedback that drives progress at the right stage. Effective feedback should be calibrated to the project’s context and framed as clear, specific, and actionable next steps. Luke Marsh, CMO, Innago Encourage Honest Feedback for Team Success I once asked our customer service team lead to share feedback on the manager. The manager was a recent hire, while the team leader had been with us for more than three years. She decided to be kind and didn’t give the objective truth. The manager’s performance deteriorated, which negatively affected team morale. We received more requests for paid time off and mental health days. We were forced to hire part-time workers to meet deadlines, incurring an extra expense. Employees were clashing with each other, and we only learned about this during the team lead’s exit interview. She shared the objective comments on the manager that she would have given months ago. It is okay to want to be kind and have your coworkers’ backs. However, when we ask for feedback, we are not asking for it as a form of punishment. We want to know areas that need our attention, training, or improvement to enhance our services and team spirit. Jacky Fischer, CEO, 3 Men Movers
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