If I march into a room and I say, 'Lenny, I'm going to tell you the truth.' I'm kind of implying I've got a pipeline to God and you don't know anything. And that's not what this is all about. This is a dialogue, not a monologue.
Inside Devin: The AI engineer that's set to write 50% of its company's code this year | Scott Wu
May 04, 2025
Featuring: Kim Scott (Author of Radical Candor, Former CO Coach)
12 quotes · 10 insights
Watch Full EpisodeNever give feedback without offering hope
If I'm a jerk to you Lenny, then I'm going to send you into fight or flight mode and then you literally cannot hear what I'm saying, so I'm wasting my breath.
Vulnerability and authenticity build stronger influence than authority
Kim Scott is the author of Radical Candor and leadership coach known for her direct communication style.
Do not write down my question because if you sound like Kim Scott and not like yourself, then other people are not going to believe you want the answer. It needs to sound authentic to you.
Ask specific questions to get real feedback
If you say, 'Do you have any feedback for me?' You're wasting your breath. The other person's going to say, 'Oh no, everything's fine.' The question that I like to ask is, 'What could I do or stop doing that would make it easier to work with me?'
Six seconds is a really long time. Almost nobody can endure six full seconds of silence. So they'll probably tell you something.