Accepting criticism of our business or our idea makes us stronger, both as entrepreneurs and as people. The entrepreneurial path is hard and full of obstacles and difficulties, which can be overcome with a positive attitude and mindset, or with the passion that Donald Trump himself recommended (read about the entrepreneur’s mindset).
Once we’ve achieved success in our business, as we all know perfectly well, success is short-lived if it has changed us, because as we grow as a company we also need to grow as people and acquire new skills.
From the time we’re young, we receive criticism. Criticism of our behavior, of our studies, criticism reflected in our exam grades, and that’s why life becomes a constant struggle to improve. If the struggle ends, life ends.
As we move forward and grow up, we gain independence, and people unconsciously tend not to accept criticism, thinking that exam time is over.
Exactly the same thing happens in business. It takes so much to reach success and overcome so many problems that, once we get things working, our natural instincts unconsciously let us relax, when in fact that tension is necessary.
We achieved business success through criticism, some constructive, some harsher, but we took all of it into account in order to improve. Reaching success is difficult, and staying there is the hardest part, so once we’ve reached it is precisely when we need to be open to criticism.
- If you think you don’t need advice, you’ve never been given good advice.
- If you think you’re perfect, that’s your greatest imperfection.
- If you think you’re the biggest and untouchable by your competitors, you haven’t analyzed the market your business operates in.
- Excessive ego was what destroyed history’s great empires.
The war of business never ends, so it’s essential to stay alert, improving and innovating at all times. It’s a good idea to call a meeting every six months or every year specifically to listen to your suppliers and customers, so they can tell you what could be improved in your business, or simply how to strengthen the points where your business model may be weak.
Some entrepreneurs are afraid to hear this kind of constructive criticism because it feels as if someone were attacking their child. But we must remember that a business is simply a source of income, and criticism helps increase that income. So we must always be ready to receive criticism, which is absolutely necessary for our growth as a company and, of course, for growing as people every day.
Taking criticism well strengthens our entrepreneurial mindset and our personal development. Before you start out in business, you should know that the further we go, the more criticism we’ll receive. That’s why we must accept it properly and never take it personally, because if you think a piece of criticism can’t help you improve, your business will have two problems:
- The mistake you don’t fix or even stop to analyze.
- The lack of personal growth, which damages the image of the boss, manager or owner of the company.
Remember: a business is never finished, because it has to move with changing times, fashions and so on. So we must innovate constantly and never lose sight of what’s in front of us or who’s following behind. But above all, whatever success or failure we have, may that result never change us as people, because if we forget where we come from, we lose sight of where we’re headed.
Further reading
- The secret of success in business
- The entrepreneur’s mindset: Donald Trump
- Hiring a leader for your business: the qualities of a good boss
Featured image: The Official CTBTO Photostream, CC BY 2.0, via Flickr.
