A short talk advising startup founders to create a formal system for handling hard conversations so issues don’t get bottled up or erupt into fights. Emphasizes building a space where people can give direct, on-point feedback without feeling attacked, noting that this requires deliberate effort to establish psychological safety and norms for honest communication.
Great startups have a system to have hard conversations. Bad startups either bottle it in or get into constant fights. And so having some type of system where the founders are going to meet and work through whatever the bullshit issue is of the day is extremely important. I think the most important thing here is to actually create a space where people feel comfortable providing really on the point feedback without feeling like they're attacking or feeling attacked. And it takes a lot of effort to create an environment where someone can be extremely honest to someone without it being perceived as attack.
