The importance of criticism
Business ideas are usually born out of spontaneous inspiration. Depending on your means, financial and otherwise, these could be turned into instant ventures or simmer in your brain for a while, where you spend countless hours perfecting it. Sometimes we become so enamored in an idea that we think it’s the best ever, and when we finally put them into practice, we discover flaws that on hindsight should have been obvious.
This is the reason why having someone else look at your ideas is extremely important. Know your mistakes early. Before putting substantial resources on something, make sure it has been criticized from every angle by yourself and other people. Some would recommend that you tell absolutely everyone you know about your idea to get the most amount of feedback possible. However, this may only be applicable to those businesses that have a moderate-to-high barrier to entry. If it’s too easy to do, someone might be tempted to steal your idea. For the second case, confide only with trusted people. Alternatively, you may tell certain people certain aspects, but never the whole thing, so that only you know how it all fits together.
Once you hit the ground running, get the best people. Ideally, they should be analytical, motivated, and not afraid to speak their minds. Have group discussions among the group and listen to their ideas on how to continuously improve your products and services. Aside from getting much needed critique, this will boost their morale and increase employee satisfaction and retention.
Do the same with your customers. Some businesses are afraid of putting comment sections or forums in their sites, but these are increasingly becoming important. Immediate customer feedback gives you incredible leverage if you know how to use them. Plus, the sooner you know that something’s wrong, the sooner you can fix it.
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