EMBRACING FEEDBACK

THE SIMPLE NEWSLETTER - ISSUE # 022

Welcome to this edition of The Simple Newsletter, where clarity meets candor. This week, Adam shares a behind-the-scenes moment that many entrepreneurs and creators can relate to—the gut-check that comes after asking for honest feedback. With transparency and humility, he walks us through a pivotal experience: committing to a focused plan, receiving unexpectedly tough input, and choosing growth over ego. What unfolds is a powerful reminder that feedback isn't a detour from success—it’s often the path to it. If you’ve ever wrestled with the tension between conviction and collaboration, this one’s for you. Dive in.

ADAM'S THOUGHTS:

This week has been a whirlwind. We had just figured out how to narrow down our messaging. We decided on one thing and committed to it for a year. One channel. One product. One market. It was a clear, focused path. And then... chaos hit.

We asked for feedback. And here’s the thing about asking for feedback when you’re super close to something you’ve created—you’re probably in love with it, not because it’s perfect, but because it’s yours. That was us. We were too close, too engrossed to see what was missing. The feedback? Brutal but also eye-opening.

We didn’t have to trash everything we'd built, but we had to reassess. Were we holding onto this idea because we believed in it, or just because we made it? We needed a growth mindset to take these insights seriously, to be vulnerable enough to say, “What if we’re wrong?”

ADAM'S LESSONS:

Instead of defending every decision we made, we stepped back and listened. We didn’t come at it with walls up—we came in open. And here’s the surprising part... they were right. Their input didn’t make us wrong. What it did was take something good and give us the tools to make it great.

This is the lesson I want to share with you today. Growth doesn’t happen by doubling down on what you already know. It happens when you listen. Sometimes that means admitting you’re wrong, but more often, it means being open to collaboration, to ideas that complement, rather than replace, what you’ve built.

Here’s what happened next. We brainstormed based on the feedback. We refined the messaging. The product didn’t need to change, nor did the market, but how we positioned ourselves to that market did. And after the work was done, we went back to those people for a second round of feedback.

One of them said, “This is so much better.” The other not only approved the changes but is now going to help us dig deeper into crafting our messaging. Why? Because the value they gave us in that initial feedback session proved to be gold.

Sometimes, all it takes is looking beyond your own perspective to unlock a better version of what you’re trying to achieve.

CLOSING THOUGHTS

“You don’t know what you don’t know.” My dad told me this when I was a kid, and it stuck. It’s such a simple truth, but one we forget so often. You might not know everything, and that’s okay. Stop saying, “I know” and instead start wondering, “What can I learn from someone else?” 

Feedback isn’t failure; it’s a way forward. Be open. Be curious. And, as I always say, Do The Thing. 

Until next time,  

Adam 

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