{"id":38293,"date":"2023-10-20T14:55:29","date_gmt":"2023-10-20T14:55:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/startupsmart.test\/2023\/10\/20\/dealing-with-criticism-what-donald-trump-could-learn-from-aussie-entrepreneurs-startupsmart\/"},"modified":"2023-10-20T14:55:29","modified_gmt":"2023-10-20T14:55:29","slug":"dealing-with-criticism-what-donald-trump-could-learn-from-aussie-entrepreneurs-startupsmart","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/uncategorized\/dealing-with-criticism-what-donald-trump-could-learn-from-aussie-entrepreneurs-startupsmart\/","title":{"rendered":"Dealing with criticism: What Donald Trump could learn from Aussie entrepreneurs – StartupSmart"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Criticism is a hard pill to swallow and no one knows this more than Donald Trump.<\/p>\n

Earlier this week, the US presidential candidate was brought to tears (I imagine) as he tweeted about Saturday Night Live\u2019s satirical rendition of the presidential debates.<\/p>\n

While the online community went into a frenzy about his reaction, the whole ordeal raised an important lesson about criticism and better ways of dealing with it.<\/p>\n

\n

Donald Trump can’t handle being made fun of on ‘SNL’ https:\/\/t.co\/OArKaZabO9<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/5TYL3WV7L6<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 WIRED (@WIRED) October 18, 2016<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Here are lessons from six Australian entrepreneurs about how to handle a big spoon of criticism that are better than a Trump\u00a0tantrum.<\/p>\n

1. It takes great leadership to embrace and learn from it<\/h3>\n

Tech entrepreneur Taryn Williams, founder of theright.fit<\/a> and Wink Models, used criticism from one of her own staff to redesign her approach as a leader and build a new company culture.<\/p>\n

\u201cI received feedback from a new employee once that she was scared of approaching me, and felt I must have been angry with her, and that I was \u2018pretty cold\u2019,\u201d Williams tells StartupSmart.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a huge wake up call for me, it was really tough to hear that people I care so much about \u2013 my team \u2013 felt that about me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Amid the chaos of building a high-growth venture, running interstate from meeting to meeting, Williams realised her intense focus on the job at hand left little time for her own team.<\/p>\n

\u201cI made a point of clearing one full day a week so I have no external meetings so they know I am available to them any time that day for questions, ideas, comments, suggestions,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

\u201cI also made much more of an effort to check in throughout the day, even if I couldn\u2019t physically do it. I would send them a WhatsApp or slack message.<\/p>\n

\u201cI also made sure I was making sure they understood the vision and direction of the company overall with better and more regular internal updates, so they felt included as part of our journey.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt really made all the difference, and now I can say our culture is one of the things I am most proud of,\u201d she adds.<\/p>\n

2. Look in the mirror and reflect when change is needed<\/h3>\n

40K Foundation founder Clary Castrission says he had to swallow a tough bit of criticism very recently during a pitch to Atlassian<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe most significant criticism was part of this process where one of the judges felt that we came across as overconfident and a little bit arrogant,\u201d he tells\u00a0StartupSmart.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Castrission says he took it very personally as he had not intended to be that way at all.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you finally build something that\u2019s hopefully valuable you want to shout it out from the hilltops,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a very fine line between confidence in your product and stepping over that line into cockiness and arrogance.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt really made us reflect and revisit the language we were using to make sure that it stayed on the right side of that line.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Atlassian Foundation<\/a> did end up awarding 40K Foundation a $250,000 grant.<\/p>\n

3. Don\u2019t let it distract you, figure out the next step<\/h3>\n

Richenda Vermeulen, founder of ntegrity, says she receives criticism all the time.<\/p>\n

\u201cFive years ago, when I first started the business, I took criticism as a very personal attack,\u201d she tells\u00a0StartupSmart.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cNow, I take it as a gift in disguise, sometimes it\u2019s accurate, sometimes it\u2019s inaccurate.\u201d<\/p>\n

Vermeulen says the best way to deal with it is by taking it as an opportunity to learn and grow.<\/p>\n

She says it can provide great insights on where you, as an entrepreneur, need to focus.<\/p>\n

This understanding of criticism and feedback has now been deeply embedded into the culture at ntegrity.<\/p>\n

Vermeulen says they actively seek out feedback from customers whether it\u2019s negative and positive and do the same between employees to grow as a team.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt used to derail me, now I ask for it,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

4. Make it a personal challenge to defy the naysayers<\/h3>\n

Muru-D\u2019s entrepreneur-in-residence Ben Sand, who co-founded $300 million company Meta<\/a>, says rejection and criticism hurt but they shouldn\u2019t stop you from building what could be a great solution to other people’s problems.<\/p>\n

\u201cDealing with rejection is essential to this whole process,\u201d he tells StartupSmart.<\/em><\/p>\n

Sand says negative comments from a tech person on a product he was developing left him feeling discouraged, but it also challenged him.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt felt like being slapped in the face with rejection for a year,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

In the game of disruption and innovation, it\u2019s normal, Sand says, to be confronted by resistance to change so don\u2019t expect people to magically fall in love with your cool new invention at once.<\/p>\n

\u201cNinety-nine percent will not be receptive of it,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf they\u2019re all saying they want it [at the start], then what you\u2019re doing is probably already out there.”<\/p>\n

The trick, however, is to build something that at first has appeal to a few fanatics but eventually captures the imagination of the masses.<\/p>\n

\u201cI need to hang out with the crazy people to start with,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

5. Drop what you\u2019re not good at<\/h3>\n

Impact entrepreneur Jordan O\u2019Reilly says criticism has taught him to focus on what he\u2019s good at.<\/p>\n

O\u2019Reilly, who co-founded Hireup and Fighting Chance<\/a>, says he struggled with trying to excel in everything.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople put pressure on themselves to be all things to all people,\u201d O\u2019Reilly tells StartupSmart.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cReally the world doesn\u2019t care what you can\u2019t do, focus on your strengths and really capitalise on those and invest in those.<\/p>\n

\u201cGet feedback on what you\u2019re not good at.\u201d<\/p>\n

6. Sometimes criticism really has no value so keep your head up and carry on<\/h3>\n

InDigital founder Mikaela Jade<\/a> has been confronted by comments that she simply put aside because sometimes, criticism really adds no value.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have received a lot of it on my startup journey, particularly around the colour of my skin,\u201d she tells StartupSmart.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cAfter I met the Prime Minister<\/a> earlier this year there were a few comments in the media about me not being “Aboriginal”, which is ridiculous. I put that down to ignorance and move on.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy great friend, sister and colleague Angie Abdilla from Old Ways New Ways told me today that another great example was when we were at the UN, and had discovered the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples did not take into account Indigenous digital rights.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were challenged on being able to amend this document, and instead worked out a better way around, which will end up being game changing global policy in it’s own right.<\/p>\n

\u201cSometimes receiving criticism is a great gift.<\/p>\n

\u201cI recommend the book Fierce Conversations<\/em> by Susan Scott – it’s kind of like my bible now on dealing with criticism and moving forward,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

Follow StartupSmart on<\/em>\u00a0Facebook<\/a>,<\/em>\u00a0Twitter<\/a>,\u00a0LinkedIn<\/a>\u00a0and iTunes<\/a>.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Criticism is a hard pill to swallow and no one knows this more than Donald Trump. Earlier this week, the<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":61727,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6,21,1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38293"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=38293"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38293\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/61727"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=38293"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=38293"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=38293"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}