Business
Business Advice: I Asked 100+ Founders of $1M-$1B Businesses

What does it take to start and grow a business to $1 million? Or even $1 billion?
If you’re among the more than six in 10 (62%) of U.S. adults who want to be their own boss, you might be familiar with the basics of entrepreneurship. Still, the prospect of leaving a secure 9-5 job to go all-in on a side hustle or business can be daunting.
Hearing from founders who have already traveled the path to business success — and learning from their mistakes made and wins achieved along the way — can help prepare you for your own entrepreneurial journey.
Related: I Wish I Received This Advice as a Young Entrepreneur
Over the past four years, I’ve interviewed more than 100 successful entrepreneurs who started businesses worth $1 million to $1 billion or more.
I’ve sat down with business luminaries like Richard Branson (Virgin Group), Martha Stewart (Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia), Alexis Ohanian (Reddit), John Mackey (Whole Foods Market) and Bobbi Brown (Bobbi Brown Cosmetics, Jones Road Beauty), among so many others.
No matter how well-known the founders or their particular industries, they, like all entrepreneurs, had to push through business ups and downs to reach success on the other side.
Related: 7 Critical Pieces of Business Advice for Entrepreneurs Just Getting Started
Needless to say, their entrepreneurial careers have taught them a lot, and even if you take just one lesson from their experiences, you could be one step closer to achieving your own business goals.
Read on to see some of their best advice.
Table of Contents
Be curious and open-minded
Martha Stewart – Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia
Stewart stresses the value of curiosity — and explains how she uses it to expand her horizons every day.
“Curiosity is certainly a character trait that I think is very important if you’re trying to understand, ‘Where is the world going? What the hell are we doing here? What are we going to do?'” Stewart says. “So I’ve always been happy to be curious. I read a lot. I travel a lot. And one of the things I try very hard to do is never drive down the same street twice if there’s an alternative so that I might see something that I’ve never seen before. And when I travel, I try to do the same thing. I try to see as much as I can in a day.”
Melissa Ben-Ishay – Baked By Melissa
Ben-Ishay isn’t afraid to admit when she doesn’t have all the answers.
“I love to be wrong,” Ben-Ishay says. “I don’t think I know everything. In fact, the older I get and the more experience I have under my belt, the less I know. And that is something I know with certainty. And I think that is an incredibly important mindset for a leader and an entrepreneur.”
Related: 3 Ways to Foster a Culture of Curiosity (and Why You Should)
Arsha Jones – Capital City Mambo Sauce
Jones didn’t grow up in a family of entrepreneurs and says she was on her own when it came to figuring out how to grow her small, home-based business. Without outside money to fund her venture or an extensive network to tap into, she took a grassroots approach instead.
Jones scanned grocery shelves for small bottled brands, “like a local barbecue sauce,” and then sent their owners an email: “I would say, ‘How did you do X? And how did you get on the store shelf?'” Jones explains. “And they would just sit down and answer any kind of questions that I had. And that was really how I jumped over a few of those hurdles, at least in the beginning.”
Image Credit: Courtesy of Capital City Mambo Sauce. Arsha Jones.
Get clear on what you want and stay true to it
John Mackey – Whole Foods Market, Love.Life
Mackey suggests entrepreneurs first figure out if they want to be startup serial entrepreneurs or builder entrepreneurs. “If you’re the serial entrepreneur, then my advice is figure out when is a good time to sell so you can go on to your next thing,” he says.
Mackey’s advice for builder entrepreneurs concerns the critical issue of venture capital. He says most venture capitalists and those in private equity will automatically assume you’re a serial entrepreneur, and “they’ll be looking to replace you.”
“If you are going to be a builder, you should be very clear with the investors that you bring in that you’re not looking to sell the business: You’re looking to build it — you hope to grow it for many years, and the exit for them will not be a sale. It’ll be an IPO,” Mackey says.
Tom Baker – Mr Black Cold Brew Coffee Liqueur
Baker says it’s important to consider your business’s unique offering, even if it slows you down temporarily.
“[I wish we’d] spent a little more time upfront thinking about how we were actually going to recruit drinkers into our brand,” Baker explains. “What will we be better at than every other liquor company? How am I going to get into [customers’] repertoire? I think we probably could have saved millions of dollars and a few years had I just spent another three months thinking about that before we started Mr Black.”
Related: How to Turn Vision Into Reality — A Step-by-Step Approach to Achieving Your Goals
Jackie Summers – Sorel Liqueur
Summers recommends taking breaks to get an accurate accounting of your goals.
“Our culture says you must keep going at 100 miles an hour at all times,” Summers says. “If you don’t have a chance to reflect, you don’t get the opportunity to see what your strengths and weaknesses are and how you’re going to compensate for both. It’s important to cocoon on a regular basis — whether [that’s] 20 minutes of meditation a day or being able to get away once every few weeks and spend some time in nature and quiet your mind. Once you have clarity, all sorts of things can move forward.”
Irene Chen and Matthew Grenby – Parker Thatch
Parker Thatch makes handbags, but its “true mission” is about giving customers a confidence boost, Chen says — a guiding principle that helps other aspects of the business fall into place.
Finding that “why” helped supercharge the company and serves as a solid defense against inevitable industry challenges, like competitors that produce knock-offs, Grenby says.
“That ‘why’ is not something that’s not easily copyable,” he explains. “If it’s not authentic, people sense that, and they value authenticity.”
Image Credit: Courtesy of Parker Thatch. Matthew Grenby and Irene Chen.
Don’t wait forever to start — do take calculated risks
Jenny Just – PEAK6 Investments, Poker Power
Just emphasizes that strategic early risk-taking can pay off in spades.
“When we talk about women taking risks, it’s not about taking bigger risks,” Just explains. “It’s just taking more risks sooner, and what poker allows you to do is take those risks in a bite-sized way.”
Johanna Hartzheim – Wildgrain
Hartzheim recommends jumping in and learning as you go.
“Just go for it because it’s something you learn while doing,” Hartzheim says. “It sounds kind of cliche, but as long as you’re motivated and passionate, you can do anything. I knew nothing about tracking, importing, all these things, but it’s not rocket science. You can learn anything or find the right people who do know these things.”
Related: You Have to Take Risks to Succeed. Here Are 4 Risk-Taking Benefits in Entrepreneurship
Kathrin Hamm – Bearaby
Hamm suggests setting a definitive timeline to put your best foot forward.
“Once you believe in a product, just take a chance and give yourself a year,” Hamm says. “It’s much more manageable if you [have] a considerable time frame where it’s like, Okay, in that year, I’m giving everything I have, 100%. Because sometimes we second guess ourselves. After [a few] months or six weeks, we don’t see the success, [and] we start doubting ourselves. You say [I have] one year, and I’m not asking if this is working. Just have tunnel vision for one year, and then reevaluate after those 365 days.”
Image Credit: Courtesy of Bearaby. Kathrin Hamm.
Embrace failure and the learning-filled journey
Payam Zamani – Autoweb, One Planet Group
Zamani notes that entrepreneurial fulfillment doesn’t have to depend on a business’s success.
“The fact is the overwhelming majority of businesses don’t survive,” Zamani says. “So you want to make that journey worth experiencing, and not just seeking an exit, seeking an IPO that may never happen. Then you feel like, ‘Ah, that was a failure.’ But if you’re making that journey something that’s worth living, you will always feel fulfilled whether or not that climax comes about in your business.”
Bobbi Brown – Bobbi Brown Cosmetics, Jones Road Beauty
Brown suggests giving entrepreneurship a shot so you don’t have to wonder “what if.”
“If you don’t try, you’ll never know,” Brown says. “I don’t believe in failure because it’s just a message that if something didn’t work out, do it differently.”
Related: 7 Ways Companies Can Harness Failure to Drive Success
Ellen Bennett – Hedley & Bennett
Bennett cautions against aiming for overnight success because a slow and steady approach brings some of the biggest gains.
“I’m a huge believer in the long game,” Bennett says. “You can start something out of your house with no money and have a viable, profitable business that you are a majority owner of many years later. And that is awesome. There’s nothing wrong with taking longer to build something great. I know our whole lives are oriented towards speed and how quickly things grow and [becoming] a unicorn, but you can be a long-game unicorn, too.”
Missy Tannen – Boll & Branch
Missy Tannen emphasizes that aspiring entrepreneurs don’t have to have it all figured out from the start.
“You don’t have to know everything day one,” she says. “You’re going to learn so much along the way, and I think if we’d realized all the things we didn’t know, we would have never started.”

Image Credit: Courtesy of Boll & Branch. Missy and Scott Tannen.
Keep your priorities in check
Alexis Ohanian – Reddit
Ohanian wants to reframe the question of what it takes to achieve work-life balance.
“I don’t think it’s about work-life balance,” Ohanian explains. “I don’t think anyone can really accomplish that. It’s not about balancing. If you’re chasing balance, you’re implying, like Thanos, [that] you’d be able to create something perfectly balanced. And the reality is work-life [is] never 50/50. You’ll never achieve anywhere close to that — nor should you. There are times in your life where you will need to focus on the career, the work. There are times in your life when you need to focus on life. It’s on a spectrum that’s ever-flowing back and forth.”
Related: 5 Priorities for Young Entrepreneurs
Do good and do well
Wemimo Abbey – Esusu
Abbey stresses that responsible entrepreneurship doesn’t have to be a zero-sum game.
“We need to find ways where we can create a win-win-win construct across the board,” Abbey says. “We really believe in this idea of justice capitalism: We can do good and do well — and it’s by no means mutually exclusive.”
Cason Crane – Explorer Cold Brew
Crane acknowledges that not every customer will support Explorer Cold Brew because of its LGBTQ+ partnerships, but he’s committed to running a business that reflects his values.
“It certainly helps keep me going every day,” Crane says. “There are things that you do as a business owner to position your business for financial success, and then there are the things you do to keep yourself excited to get out of bed every morning. And I think it’s important as a business owner to do both.”
Related: How to Make Giving Back Part of Your Brand’s DNA
Randy Goldberg and David Heath – Bombas
Goldberg and Heath say founders must ensure the mission is “fully integrated into the business.”
“Every team at Bombas is responsible for the mission in either a direct or an indirect way,” Heath says. “And I think having that so intertwined makes our employees feel good about our mission. But it also makes it so that the mission shows up in everything that we do, from customer experience interactions, to the website, to the creative, to the product. It’s so much a part of our DNA that you could never separate the mission. It’s not an afterthought.”
Image Credit: Courtesy of Bombas. David Heath and Randy Goldberg.
Lead with intention and encourage creativity
Chris Kirby – Ithaca Hummus
Kirby explains what it takes to build a company culture that promotes ideation, risk-taking and learning.
“I’ve learned that true leadership is about empathy, clear communication and creating an environment where people feel valued and empowered,” Kirby says. “So I’ve worked hard to build a culture that’s the complete opposite of what I experienced in a lot of those kitchens. I want my team to feel safe to share ideas, take risks and learn from mistakes without fear of being punished.”
Scott Tannen – Boll & Branch
Tannen says that a business leader is only as good as the people with whom they surround themselves.
“I am not the most talented person in this company by miles,” Tannen explains, “and I think that’s a mark of a great company when I can say that.”
Related: What Makes a Good Leader? Here’s What I’ve Learned After 20-Plus Years as a CEO.
Jocelyn Gailliot – Tuckernuck
Gailliot says Tuckernuck leaders strive to learn from their team members, which means listening to them.
“We constantly ask [them] questions,” Gailliot says. “I’ve been in industries before where it’s very much: ‘This is the role you play at these different hierarchical levels.’ And for us, it’s always been: ‘You’re on the team — you have amazing ideas to contribute, and we want to hear them.’ And we really do.”
Richard Branson – Virgin Group
Branson cites Virgin Unite’s The Elders, a group of independent global leaders working for peace and human rights that has included leaders like Nelson Mandela and Jimmy Carter, as an example of strong leadership.
“They’re all great listeners,” Branson explains. “They know what they’re thinking. They don’t need to hear themselves saying it out loud, and the only way they can learn is by listening to other people talk.”
Work hard to achieve the results you want
Amir Loloi – Loloi Rugs
Loloi says that the only person standing in the way of your business success is yourself.
“If you dream big and work hard, no one is there to stop you,” Loloi explains. “It’s not about the color of your skin. It’s not about your background. It’s not about your religion. It’s not about anything except about you personally: What are you willing to do? When you are given a task, how much more are you willing to add to it to deliver so much more? If you want to be someone in life, step out of the boundaries.”

Image Credit: Courtesy of Loloi. Amir Loloi and his sons.
Adriana Carrig – Little Words Project
Carrig suggests a three-pronged strategy to realize your biggest dreams.
“If you want it bad enough that you’re willing to work for it and believe in yourself, and all those things come together in this perfect trifecta, then there’s nothing you can’t achieve,” Carrig says. “So go for it.”
Related: 7 Elements of a Strong Work Ethic
Fawn Weaver – Uncle Nearest Premium Whiskey
According to Weaver, entrepreneurs need to give the business their all — or rethink it altogether.
“If you’re not going to do it with excellence and with consistency, bow out and get a job,” Weaver says. “Period. If you are going to do it with excellence and with consistency over time, don’t let anybody slow you down — no one. Just keep going after it, because the only people that fail doing it with excellence and with consistency are those who give up before they succeed.”

A blog which focuses on business, Networth, Technology, Entrepreneurship, Self Improvement, Celebrities, Top Lists, Travelling, Health, and lifestyle. A source that provides you with each and every top piece of information about the world. We cover various different topics.
Business
Make Money on Autopilot With These Passive Income Ideas

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
Are you tired of constantly building, scaling and strategizing to grow your business? As an entrepreneur, your time is your asset, and you spend it delivering service and winning new clients. But what if you could generate more income on autopilot and focus on your main venture?
This secret lies in earning passive income without spending time and energy. Successful business owners sell what they already have in the form of digital products, assets and programs and earn with minimal ongoing effort.
The foundation of passive income is value creation. There’s no shortcut or quick fix to get rich overnight. Money is simply a medium of value exchange. To generate passive income, you must provide value in a way that isn’t directly tied to your time.
Let’s talk about five innovative ways entrepreneurs can do this:
Table of Contents
1. Investing in stocks and shares
One of the most accessible ways to earn passive income is through investing. You can buy stocks in a company. Investing in dividend-paying stocks means you earn a share of the company’s profits without doing any work. Platforms like M1 Finance or Vanguard make it easy to get started.
In real estate, you buy a property, rent it out and collect monthly income. Another hassle-free way is investing in real estate (REITs) without owning a physical property.
2. Affiliate marketing
Anyone can get started in affiliate marketing without expertise. This is also considered an evergreen business model. It means that it can exist for an extended period of time. You also have the flexibility to be a one-person business or scale your company to have hundreds of employees. But do you know what affiliate marketing is?
You enjoyed a product and told somebody to get it. You give them a code to get that product and earn a commission — that is affiliate marketing.
Some of the best niches for affiliate marketing are:
-
Software and tools: If you use business software like Skool, ConvertKit or ClickFunnels, sign up for their affiliate programs and earn commissions.
-
Online education: Many course platforms have affiliate programs where you earn money by referring students.
-
Ecommerce and physical products: Amazon Associates, Shopify and niche product affiliate programs can generate steady income.
You can automate affiliate income in the following ways:
-
Write SEO-optimized blog posts that rank and bring in traffic over time
-
Review products in YouTube videos and add affiliate links in the description
-
Create an email list and set up automated sequences with affiliate recommendations
If nothing works, you can run paid ads that will bring quick results.
Related: 7 Ways to Make Extra Income Even With a Full-Time Job
3. Monetizing content (YouTube, blogging and podcasts)
Another easy way to earn passive income is by starting a YouTube channel, blogging or starting a podcast. Content creation is a long game, but the potential for passive income is enormous once you build an audience.
You can start a YouTube channel easily and upload videos based on your expertise. You can earn through ads, sponsorships and affiliate links when your channel is monetized.
With the right strategy, blogging can also give you thousands and millions of dollars in passive income. Create a website in a low-competition niche. Write high-quality content and monetize it through ads or affiliate marketing.
Podcasting is another way to get passive income. You can get sponsorship deals, sell premium content or use listener support platforms like Patreon.
You can use different strategies to make content passive. A blog post can become a YouTube script, a podcast episode and a Twitter thread. Use SEO strategies to rank content and drive organic traffic. Generative AI is gradually changing SEO forever, making it easier to generate high-quality content that ranks.
4. Create and sell digital products
Selling digital products is another way to earn passive income. Digital products require no inventory and no shipping, with minimal overhead costs. Need ideas for digital products you can sell?
If you are an expert in a niche (marketing, personal finance, fitness, etc.), package your knowledge into an e-book or guide. You can sell it via Amazon Kindle, Gumroad or your website.
The online education industry is growing at an exceptional rate. Platforms like Udemy, Teachable and Skool make creating and selling courses easy. If you’re an entrepreneur, the valuable lessons you have learned are likely ones that others are willing to pay for.
Business owners love time-saving resources. Selling Canva templates, Notion dashboards or financial planning spreadsheets can also be lucrative.
To make it passive, you can automate the delivery process using platforms like ThriveCart or SendOwl. Set up evergreen sales funnels that bring in leads and convert them automatically. To keep sales steady, continuously update and improve your digital product.
5. Print-on-demand and ecommerce automation
Now, selling physical products doesn’t have to be a time-consuming task. With automation, you can create an ecommerce business that can run itself. You can choose a passive income ecommerce model according to your experience:
-
Print-on-demand (POD): Platforms like Printful or Redbubble can be used to sell T-shirts, mugs or posters. You don’t need to manage inventory.
-
Dropshipping: Find suppliers who can handle fulfillment and run a business without touching a single product.
-
Amazon FBA: Let Amazon store and ship your products while you focus on marketing.
Use AI-powered chatbots to handle customer service. You can also automate email marketing to nurture customers on autopilot. Optimizing product listings can bring organic traffic and minimize ad spending.
Related: How to Make Money While You Sleep
The key to successful passive income as an entrepreneur is selecting income streams that complement your expertise and business model. Instead of spreading yourself too thin, focus on one or two strategies, automate them as much as possible, and reinvest your earnings into scaling your primary business.
Setting up smart passive income streams will create financial stability and give you more time to focus on what truly matters.

A blog which focuses on business, Networth, Technology, Entrepreneurship, Self Improvement, Celebrities, Top Lists, Travelling, Health, and lifestyle. A source that provides you with each and every top piece of information about the world. We cover various different topics.
Business
Small Business Administration: Surging Application Approvals

Small businesses are getting approved for manufacturing loans in greater numbers this year, according to data from the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA).
Its flagship program, the 7(a) business loan, offers entrepreneurs the opportunity to buy real estate, purchase machinery, and obtain furniture and supplies, and guarantees up to 85% of 7(a) loans of $150,000 or less, and up to 75% of loans above $150,000.
According to new data by the SBA, 74% more business owners were approved for 7(a) manufacturing loans in the first 90 days of President Donald Trump’s administration than during the first 90 days of former President Joe Biden’s administration in 2021.
From Jan. 20 to April 17, the SBA has approved more than 1,120 7(a) manufacturing loans totaling $677 million. During the same period in 2021, the SBA approved fewer than 650 7(a) loans, equivalent to $497 million in funds.
Related: More People Are Exploring Entrepreneurship Because of This Unexpected Reason
“Loan applications and approvals for small manufacturers are surging — a clear sign that American manufacturing is roaring back,” SBA Administrator Kelly Loeffler stated in a press release.
The SBA launched its Made in America Manufacturing Initiative last month, which aims to cut $100 billion worth of regulations for manufacturers and create a pipeline of skilled workers to take on manufacturing jobs.
Trump is promoting Made in America manufacturing through a combination of tax cuts, deregulation, and trade policies, including tariffs of up to 145% on imports from China, and a blanket tariff of 10% for other countries until July. As of Wednesday, however, Trump has indicated that he would consider lowering China tariffs.
“As part of our tax cuts, we want to cut taxes on domestic production and all manufacturing,” Trump stated in remarks to Congress last month.
According to the SBA’s Office of Advocacy, about 98% of American manufacturers are deemed small businesses and collectively employ 4.8 million U.S. workers.
The SBA offers other small business loans besides the 7(a), including 504 loans of up to $5.5 million and microloans of up to $50,000.

A blog which focuses on business, Networth, Technology, Entrepreneurship, Self Improvement, Celebrities, Top Lists, Travelling, Health, and lifestyle. A source that provides you with each and every top piece of information about the world. We cover various different topics.
Business
6 Steps for Giving Employee Feedback That’s Actually Helpful

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
Most leaders believe they’re giving helpful feedback. But too often, what they think is constructive comes across as demoralizing, ineffective or outright damaging. The difference? The best leaders don’t just give feedback — they coach, communicate with care, and create an environment where employees feel seen, heard and valued.
Gallup and Workhuman research shows that employees who receive valuable feedback are five times more engaged and 57% less likely to experience burnout. Yet too many leaders fall into the trap of delivering feedback in a way that crushes morale instead of driving improvement.
The solution? Feedback needs to be an ongoing, trust-based conversation, not a one-time critique. It must be framed as coaching, not criticism, and delivered in a way that accounts for more than just words. Your tone, body language, facial expressions and energy play just as big a role as the message itself.
Here’s how to be more effective at giving feedback — step by step.
Related: Employee Feedback Is Only Effective If It’s Done Right. Here’s How to Make Sure It Lands.
Table of Contents
Step 1: Shift your mindset — feedback is a gift, not a gotcha
Leaders often hesitate to give honest feedback for fear of being seen as negative. But avoiding feedback doesn’t create a culture of psychological safety; it creates a culture of guessing and stagnation. The best employees want to grow, and they need clear, constructive input to do so.
Key shift: Move from a criticism mindset to a coaching mindset. Think of your team as business athletes. Just as elite performers rely on coaches to refine their skills, employees need guidance, encouragement and practical ways to improve.
Ask yourself:
When you see feedback as an investment in someone’s success, it changes the way you show up.
Step 2: Presence and delivery matter more than you think
The most overlooked part of feedback? How you show up.
Your body language, vocal range, gaze and facial expressions all send a message before you say a word. To curate a warm and inviting atmosphere conducive to accepting constructive feedback, adopt an open posture, connect visually, show concern and care with facial expressions that are authentic and congruent to what you’re saying, and use a conversational tone and cadence. Otherwise, they may feel tension, judgment or discomfort instead.
You silently communicate to the world all day through your body language and presence. Be intentional about how you are perceived. Convey, instead of betray, your message.
Key shift: Feedback isn’t just about what you say but how you make people feel. You need to be fully present, engaged and emotionally attuned.
What to do:
-
Make eye contact: Remove distractions and see the person in front of you; stay “on gaze!” Not in an intimidating way, but with warmth and attentiveness.
-
Adopt an open posture: To signal partnership as opposed to power, face your employee with open arms and gestures that invite conversation, seated at the same level.
-
Mind your facial expressions: Are you showing genuine curiosity and care or unintentionally conveying frustration?
-
Be intentional with your vocal delivery: Vary your pitch and pace. Speak as you would in conversation. Too fast or too slow, too high-pitched or too low-pitched, and your message may be misunderstood.
Effective leaders don’t only plan what they’ll say; they are also intentional about their presence or how they “show up.”
Ask yourself:
-
Is my nonverbal communication reinforcing my message, or undermining it?
-
Am I making this a safe, productive space for the other person to engage?
Step 3: Start with strengths, not weaknesses
Too often, feedback begins with what’s wrong rather than what’s working. But neuroscience shows that people are more open to feedback when they feel seen, valued and capable.
Starting with acknowledgment sets a positive tone and reinforces that feedback is coming from a place of support. “I always like to start conversations by sharing how my team members’ strengths have had a positive effect on our business outcomes,” says Kristi Snyder, Chief People Officer at Enthuse Marketing Group. Framing the conversation around strengths helps both parties enter the discussion with a constructive, growth-oriented mindset.
Key shift: Flip the traditional feedback approach. Start with acknowledgment before diving into areas for improvement.
What to say:
By opening with a question, you create a loop of engagement rather than a top-down critique. Employees get to explain their thinking first, which makes them far more receptive to guidance.
Step 4: Ask more, tell less
Great leaders use feedback as an opportunity to understand before they correct. Instead of leading with here’s what you did wrong, try leading with curiosity.
Key shift: Replace statements with open-ended questions to uncover insights and encourage self-reflection.
What to ask:
-
“What was your thought process behind this approach?”
-
“What challenges did you run into?”
-
“How do you think we could refine this?”
By letting employees talk first, you gather context, acknowledge their thinking and collaborate on solutions rather than dictate them. Approaching situations like this makes sure employees feel heard and increases buy-in.
A reminder: Acknowledgment is NOT agreement. Giving employees space to explain their reasoning allows leaders to correct misunderstandings while still respecting their perspective.
Step 5: Deliver feedback with directness and care
Feedback shouldn’t be sugarcoated, but it also shouldn’t feel like an attack. The secret? Balance directness with care.
Key shift: Avoid vague platitudes (“You did great”) and harsh bluntness (“This was bad”). Instead, use clear, actionable and supportive language.
What to say:
-
Instead of “Your presentation was weak,” try: “I see the effort you put in. Let’s strengthen the data to make it even more compelling.”
-
Instead of “You handled that customer situation poorly,” try: “I appreciate how you followed the process. Let’s explore ways to make it more adaptable.”
Related: How to Give Constructive Feedback That Actually Empowers Others
Step 6: Follow up and reinforce progress
The biggest mistake leaders make? Giving feedback once and never revisiting it. Without reinforcement, even the best feedback fades into the background.
Key shift: Feedback shouldn’t be a one-time event — it should be an ongoing dialogue.
What to do:
-
Circle back in a week to see what’s changed.
-
Recognize progress (even small wins) to reinforce learning.
-
Keep feedback alive in regular conversations, not just performance reviews.
Great leaders don’t go it alone
The most remarkable leaders and elite performers lean on coaches to hone their skills. Many of the most effective leaders actively work with executive coaches to refine their ability to deliver impactful feedback. They recognize that feedback is an art — one that can be mastered with guidance, practice and expert insight.
Feedback is meant to bring people closer and move the organization forward, but it must be delivered expertly. Mastering feedback isn’t just about what you say — it’s about how you say it and how it makes people feel. Whether you’re a seasoned executive or an emerging leader, investing in expert coaching can elevate your ability to guide, inspire and develop your team.
Feedback is your leadership superpower. Use it wisely.

A blog which focuses on business, Networth, Technology, Entrepreneurship, Self Improvement, Celebrities, Top Lists, Travelling, Health, and lifestyle. A source that provides you with each and every top piece of information about the world. We cover various different topics.
-
Entertainment2 weeks ago
Lady Gaga pays homage to past music videos in nearly 2-hour Coachella 2025 headlining set
-
Life Style2 weeks ago
160 Inspirational Birthday Quotes for a Happy, Fun and Meaningful Celebration
-
Technology3 weeks ago
TechCrunch Mobility: Tesla takes a hit, tariff chaos begins, and one EV startup hits a milestone
-
Entertainment3 weeks ago
Mexico’ actor Manuel Masalva ‘fighting for his life’ in coma after bacterial infection
-
Entertainment2 weeks ago
Hailey Bieber shows off skimpy animal-printed bikini ahead of Coachella 2025
-
Entertainment2 weeks ago
MGK Makes Surprise Appearance at Coachella After Welcoming Baby with Megan Fox
-
Technology2 weeks ago
Meta exec denies the company artificially boosted Llama 4’s benchmark scores
-
Life Style2 weeks ago
90 Inspirational Nurses Day Quotes to Help You Show Your Appreciation and Respect