Small team, honest talk

Honesty at Color of Vietnam is not a slogan on the wall. It is three short sentences used every day: I know, I am not sure, I was wrong. It is raising a problem the day we see it, even before we have a fix. It is feedback that stays on the work, comes with an example and respects the person hearing it. This article is for anyone considering joining a small team who wants to know what the phrase speak honestly looks like at nine on a Monday morning.

Three short sentences for every day

The first: I know. Followed by the evidence. I know this sample is sweeter than the reference because all three tasters wrote it down. This sentence lets a colleague trust the information and use it straight away.

The second: I am not sure. This is the hardest to say and the most valuable. A newcomer tends to think that admitting uncertainty makes them look weak. Here it is the opposite. Saying it early stops the whole team building a plan on an assumption. We usually attach the next step: I am not sure about the shelf life of this sample, I will ask the facility this afternoon.

The third: I was wrong. Said the moment we notice, not when someone else finds out. A mistake reported early is a cheap mistake. The same mistake discovered after the packaging has been printed is an expensive one.

Raise it early, even without a fix

Many people hold a problem back because they want to bring the solution at the same time. The intention is good, but in a small team it does harm. While one person works alone on a fix, everyone else is still running on the old plan.

We agreed one simple rule: if you know about a problem, say it the same day, even if it is a single line. Samples are two days late. The film supplier has changed its price. The figure on the artwork does not match the test report. That one line is enough for others to adjust their own work. The fix can follow, and it usually arrives faster when more people are thinking about it.

Feedback that stays on the work

Honesty is not an excuse to vent. Feedback here follows a few conventions so that the person receiving it can use it without being bruised:

• Talk about the work, not the person. This opening paragraph does not yet answer the question in the title, rather than your writing is weak.
• Bring an example. Point to the exact spot, line or sample.
• Say it early and say it directly. Not saved up for a quarterly review, not passed through a third person.
• The person receiving it can ask back and does not have to agree. Feedback is data, not an order.
• Praise as precisely as you criticise. Today's tasting note could be acted on immediately, keep writing them that way.

The rule is most visible in a sample review. The founder tastes and says plainly where the sample falls short. The R&D specialist explains why they took that direction and what they have not yet had time to try. Nobody has to guess what anyone means. The meeting is shorter and the next sample is better.

Honest with people outside

Being honest inside the team is easier than being honest with a customer. We keep the same rule for both.

A concrete example: our partner facilities hold ISO 22000:2018, and at the time of writing that certificate is being renewed. The easy option is to write ISO 22000 certified and stop there. Our option is to write the whole thing: which facility holds it, what scope it covers and that renewal is in progress. The same goes for US FDA food facility registration, which we describe as a registration and never as an approval.

On export, we say we are preparing and have not announced a market. Naming a market we do not yet have would sound better in a first meeting and fall apart in the second, when the buyer asks for details. A professional buyer values a not yet more than a yes with no paperwork behind it.

Why a small team needs this more than a large one

In a big company, something left unsaid can drift through several layers and several months. In a team of a few people it lands on the person next to you within the week. Four brands, twenty products, a network of partner facilities and a packaging print schedule that waits for nobody. There is nowhere to hide an untested figure or a sample that did not pass.

Speaking honestly is therefore not a virtue to advertise. It is the only way a small team can move quickly without falling over.

If the three short sentences at the top of this article come easily to you, or you would like to learn to say them, have a look at the open roles on our Careers page. At interview, ask us directly what we have not yet managed to do. We will give you a straight answer.