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- [00:00]
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And it has been so helpful for me, as I evolve as a business person, as an entrepreneur, to be able to receive that kind of feedback and not react to it. Not immediately, you know, fire back, why I'm right. But literally slow down. Like, actually when somebody says something to me that I'm not, like, super excited about, specifically if it's opposing something that I want to do now, I slow down and I listen.
- [00:31]
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What's going on? Podcast family. My name is Michael Chernow, and this is the Creatures of Habit podcast. Our habits will make us or they will break us. I've lived on both sides of the tracks and have experienced some of the best and the worst that habits have in store. The decisions we make on a consistent basis truly define who we are as human beings. This episode will be a solo episode where traditionally I interview guests. This is a solo episode where I share with you guys experiences that I've had, things that are relevant in my life today that I think could potentially be interesting for you to hear, things that I simply just want to share or quotes or activities that I've done over the last few weeks that have inspired me. So sit back, relax, and get out your pen and paper, because what you hear in this podcast could potentially make.
- [01:30]
A
Some big changes in your life. Let's go. Monday moments, y'all. I want to talk to you about receiving feedback today. Receiving feedback from others that could be from friends, that could be from your family, that could be from your co workers, that could be from your business partner, that could be from people that work with you or for you. Receiving feedback is so important. And I battled with receiving feedback for a long time. I did not like when people would tell me that what I was doing wasn't great or I should be thinking about it in a different way. I just didn't like hearing it. And sometimes I still struggle with hearing it. But interestingly now I actually surround myself with people at Creatures of Habit, at the company that are very, very comfortable giving me feedback. And I love it. I love it. I love getting pushback. Because most of the time, we walk through life thinking that our opinion is the right one. And everybody's different. Everybody's brain thinks differently. It would be insane to think that everybody would agree with you. But a lot of us actually walk around feeling that way. Whether you consciously think that or not, when somebody challenges you, you're like, what do you mean? And I used to feel the same way. You know, I've got a general manager at Creatures of Habit. Really? Very, very smart. Very, very Experienced guy named Victor Lee. He was introduced to me from one of our investors, Gary Vaynerchuk. Victor is a veteran marketing executive. I'm so lucky to be able to have a guy like him that believes in the brand. He was the CMO at rxbar for a few years. He spent years at Hasbro. I mean the guy is like super smart and a tough cookie. He challenges almost everything I propose, literally almost everything. And years ago I would never be able to do, to work with him. No way. Like I would just be like, no, this guy sees the negative in everything. And today I can honestly say that I'm so grateful to be able to work with him because he really does make me think. I feel like you graduate to another level of business ship entrepreneurship when you can hear what other people say or hear what other. Hear other people's opinions that are opposing yours and actually appreciate and consider them. And he challenges me constantly. And it would be so surprising to know that like I, we don't fight, we never, we never fight. It's that we will potentially get into a back and forth why he thinks he's right, why I think I'm right. But I just wanted to put some, put something on there because this is not an uncommon thing. This is a very common thing. And this could be in a marriage. This could be in, you know, in any relationship receiving constructive criticism or receiving feedback or being in a conversation with somebody that does not agree with you. It's very, very easy to be closed minded, to have blinders on. And I've just learned over the years that if somebody doesn't agree with you, there is actually viability to it. There is, there's got to be a reason why they don't agree with you, why they don't see it the way you see it. And if you are too short sighted or too self centered to not be able to hear them, metabolize what they're saying. You are the one that's wrong. No matter how you slice it, you are wrong because they believe they're right as much as you believe you're right. So imagine the conviction that you have for the opinion that you're projecting out and someone across the table from you has the exact same conviction on the opposite side of the spectrum. There's gotta be some validity to it, right? So you would be remiss not to want to consider what they have to say. And it has been so helpful for me as I evolve as a business person, as an entrepreneur to be able to receive that kind of Feedback and not react to it. Not immediately, you know, fire back, why I'm right. But literally slow down. Like, actually when somebody says something to me that I'm not, like, super excited about, specifically if it's opposing something that I want to do now, I slow down and I listen and I'll ask questions and I'll try to understand. And I would say probably 50% of the time, I step off of my decision to want to move forward with my opinion, because I've given myself the time to understand where they're coming from. And in 50% of the time, in 50% of the cases, I would say they've got a real argument. Well, I think it's made me a much better leader because it's not my way or the highway now. I don't allow it to influence me all the time. If there's something that I'm incredibly passionate about, I will most likely push forward, because at the end of the day, I've set myself up in a position to be the final say at my company. I'm the founder, I'm the CEO, and ultimately, I make the final decision. And you take a lot of responsibility by doing that, right? Like, no matter how you slice it, you wear the ramifications of all the decisions that you make, good and bad. But I've clearly recognized serious growth in my entrepreneurial journey through this very, very specific topic. Taking feedback from others, taking constructive criticism, allowing myself to metabolize it, asking questions, and then responding. And it has been so powerful. So I just wanted to share that with you. I empower you to hear what I'm saying in this episode and not feel like you're letting people steamroll you or rolling over, but actually taking the time to think about why someone else would feel completely opposite, why someone else would look at what you've done and want to critique it. And not all the time they're right. Maybe more times than not, they're wrong. But it would be remiss of you to not consider it, and it would be shitty of you to get defensive all the time. And that is a very, very, very typical sign of immaturity as an entrepreneur. And some of the greatest wealthiest people in the world struggle with this. I mean, in the world right now, there's a bunch of people that are leading that you can't tell them anything, right? We know that they're always right and they can't be happy. So this is just a little quick one to let you know that if somebody's telling you that they don't believe in what you're doing. Don't take it personally. Give it the time it needs to sort of work through it, actually receive it. Don't deflect it. Receive it, think about it and then respond. It would mean the world. If you guys subscribe to the podcast. We're really trying to grow this podcast. We're really trying to grow the podcast. If you can give us a five star rating and a review, it would mean the world. I love you all. I appreciate y'all. Until the next one, peace.