7 Unsexy Questions on Feedback That Save Startups
Stop guessing. Here are 7 blunt questions on feedback to ask your customers. Learn to analyze voice of customer data before you're irrelevant.
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Here’s a truth nobody dares whisper: your roadmap is a feel-good wish list while churn eats you alive. Stop tweaking button colors—get your customers to spit real shit, or die broke. Interrogating reality beats passive listening every damn time. For more brutal tactics, see customer feedback strategies for turning critiques into opportunities.
1. What specific behavior would you like me to start, stop, or continue doing?
Vague crap like “be more proactive” is garbage. Split it into Start, Stop, Continue—forces people to call out exact moves.
- Start: “Shoot me a one-line pre-1:1 agenda.”
- Stop: “Don’t commit deadlines solo—talk to engineers first.”
- Continue: “Drop your sketch drafts early so we can catch trash before launch.”
How It Works in the Real World
Agile teams and giants like Google use retros with this to slice ambiguity.
Making It Work for You
Focus on observable acts—no personality critiques. Get tactical with our coach feedback tool.
Takeaway: Zero fluff—force specificity with actions, not feelings.
2. How did my actions/work impact you and the team?
Judging a task alone is as dumb as measuring an iceberg by its tip. Demand the ripple effects.
- “Your early report unblocked design—no weekend fire drill.”
- “Last-minute slide changes torched marketing’s deadline.”
How It Works in the Real World
Deloitte and IBM bake this into 360s to forge systems thinkers.
Making It Work for You
Skip “How did that make you feel?” and ask “What downstream mess did I cause?”
Takeaway: Death to task-level feedback—measure actual fallout.
3. What would you do differently if you were in my position?
Tired of armchair critiques? This forces critics to pull on your boots and map a play.
- “With that budget gap, I’d freeze feature X and double-down on onboarding.”
- “I’d cut the launch party and pour that budget into customer support.”
How It Works in the Real World
McKinsey case teams and top accelerators drill this to smash tunnel vision.
Making It Work for You
Lay out constraints quickly, then grill their plan on risks and ROI.
Takeaway: Crowdsourced strategy breeds buy-in and uncovers blind spots.
4. What's one thing I do well that I should leverage more?
Stop obsessing over flaws—fuel your superpowers to obliterate the competition.
- “Your knack for simplifying tech sells demos—own client walkthroughs.”
- “Your calm under fire defuses angry users—train the support team.”
How It Works in the Real World
Gallup’s StrengthsFinder and top sports teams build systems around their stars.
Making It Work for You
Demand examples where your strength moved the needle, then double down.
Takeaway: Sharpen your blade—invest in what you already crush at.
5. What feedback do you wish someone had given you at my stage?
Stop touring the kiddie section—ride shotgun on a veteran’s war stories.
- Founder: “Lock on one customer segment—trying to please all nearly killed us.”
- Manager: “Stop playing hero—focus on clearing obstacles for your team.”
How It Works in the Real World
Top accelerators and exec coaches force-feed this to erase rookie mistakes.
Making It Work for You
Treat it like platinum—ask follow-ups to tailor their scars to your battlefield.
Takeaway: A single war story can save you months of firefights.
6. How can I better support you and your work?
Good leaders clear paths; bad ones build more hurdles.
- “Share user metrics before our sync so I focus on the right blockers.”
- “Loop me into the client chat if negotiations stall.”
How It Works in the Real World
Southwest’s servant leadership and Amazon’s teams swear by this question.
Making It Work for You
Turn their needs into tickets—define who, what, when, then deliver or shut up. For external users, harness get customer feedback that actually grows your business.
Takeaway: Removing obstacles beats self-promotion every single time.
7. What blind spots might I have that I'm not aware of?
Inviting people to roast your unseen slip-ups is scary—do it anyway.
- “You jump topics in meetings, leaving half the team lost.”
- “Your over-optimism masks timeline risks until we’re in crunch.”
How It Works in the Real World
GE’s 360s and exec coaches use this to trigger real breakthroughs.
Making It Work for You
Demand raw honesty, then reply only with “Thanks for telling me.” For data-driven blind spot hunting, see customer feedback analysis tools.
Takeaway: You can’t fix what you don’t know is broken.
7 Key Feedback Questions Comparison
| Feedback Question | Implementation Complexity 🔄 | Resource Requirements ⚡ | Expected Outcomes 📊 | Ideal Use Cases 💡 | Key Advantages ⭐ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| What specific behavior would you like me to start, stop, or continue doing? | Medium - structured, straightforward | Low - easy to implement verbally or in writing | Clear, actionable behavior changes | Performance reviews, team retrospectives, coaching | Provides concrete guidance, reduces ambiguity, balanced feedback |
| How did my actions/work impact you and the team? | Medium to High - requires reflection | Medium - may require multiple perspectives | Increased empathy, awareness of ripple effects | Leadership development, team building, collaboration | Builds accountability, reveals unintended consequences, strengthens cohesion |
| What would you do differently if you were in my position? | Medium - requires role reversal thinking | Medium - needs context sharing | Creative solutions, collaborative problem-solving | Strategic decision-making, creative problem-solving | Generates alternatives, reduces defensiveness, encourages empathy |
| What's one thing I do well that I should leverage more? | Low - strengths-focused, positive framing | Low - straightforward to ask and receive | Increased confidence, amplified strengths | Talent development, career planning, role optimization | Builds motivation, focuses on strengths, boosts engagement |
| What feedback do you wish someone had given you at my stage? | Medium - hindsight and mentoring required | Medium - needs experienced perspectives | Developmentally appropriate guidance, mentoring | Career development, leadership growth, skill building | Shares seasoned wisdom, avoids common pitfalls, builds connections |
| How can I better support you and your work? | Low to Medium - service-oriented mindset | Medium - requires understanding others' needs | Stronger relationships, collaboration, team support | Team leadership, collaboration, relationship building | Demonstrates servant leadership, fosters trust, uncovers collaboration opportunities |
| What blind spots might I have that I'm not aware of? | High - emotionally challenging | Medium to High - requires psychological safety | Breakthrough self-awareness, highlights biases | Leadership development, personal growth, bias recognition | Reveals unconscious patterns, builds trust through vulnerability, accelerates development |
Stop Asking, Start Systematizing
If you think a list of questions is a strategy, you’re already broken. One-off chats drown in day-to-day chaos. You need a machine that harvests raw feedback, filters the noise, and highlights the thousand-customer trends, not your next ego stroker. Ditch the spreadsheet hell—customer feedback collection tools can automate the grunt work so you focus on levers, not line items.
Plug Backsy’s AI engine into your customer feedback pipeline or watch your startup drown in its own noise.