Five Seconds That Beat A Year Of Silence

Most leaders wait a year to give feedback.

They watch the same behaviour repeat for months, say nothing, and quietly train people that silence is safer than speed, then unload it all in an annual review like a delayed invoice.

That’s not patience.

That’s avoidance dressed up as process.

There’s a faster way.

And it doesn’t need a meeting, a document, or a long emotional wind-up that everyone dreads.

The book The Effective Manager says effective feedback takes five to fifteen seconds.

The structure is painfully simple.

It runs on four moves that fit inside a single breath.

Ask for permission.

Name the behaviour.

Show the impact.

Point to the future.

That’s it. 

“Can I give you some feedback?”

“When you X…”

“…the result is Y.”

“Can you change that?” 

Here’s an example:

“Manager: Can I give you some feedback?

Direct: Okay.

Manager: When you interrupt others in meetings, even when you’re excited about an idea, people shut down, quieter voices disappear, and we miss good input. Can you let them finish before you jump in, going forward?”

Boom.

Done.

And notice what didn’t happen.

No discussion.

No defence.

The beautiful thing about rapid feedback is the frequency it allows.

When it only takes a few seconds, why wait for a quarterly slot or a once-a-year confession booth?

Why not give feedback every day?

Why not five times a day?

Annual reviews teach people to delay, defend, and hide.

Rapid feedback teaches people to adjust, adapt, and move.

One creates fear and theatre.

The other creates trust and motion.

There is one guardrail.

Actually three.

Before you speak, ask yourself this.

Are you angry?

If yes, shut up.

Are you punishing the past instead of shaping the future?

If yes, shut up.

Can you let it go emotionally after saying it?

If no, shut up.

Now, the part that messes with most leaders.

Defensiveness.

Pushback.

That reflex to explain, justify, and win.

The book flips the script.

The goal of feedback is not agreement.

It’s changing future behaviour.

So when someone argues, you don’t dig in.

You don’t prove your case.

You don’t replay the past frame by frame like a lawyer building a defence.

You just pause.

You smile.

You apologise.

And you walk away.

Yes, really.

Because the argument is about the past.

And the future signal is already planted.

Once you learn it, it’s hard to unlearn.

Five-second feedback.

No drama.

No backlog.

No annual ambush.

Lower the bar.

Raise the frequency.

Build a culture where feedback is normal, light, and constant.

Because waiting a year is easy.

And useless.

PS. If you don’t know jewellery, know your jeweller. That’s Buffett’s rule. It’s the same with messaging. Smart ideas die in boring words. If you don’t know the game, find a partner who does, because your reputation is on the line. I help thinkers, rebels, and disruptors say what they mean and make it stick.  Step up. Bring your message. I’ll bring the punch. You’ve got one shot to say it right. I’ll help you take it.