To Improve Your Relationships, Stop Giving Advice (Really)

Wisdom can only be gained the hard way

Marina Glazman
Forge

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Photo: We Are/Getty Images

I walked into the room feeling like the least accomplished person in there. It was an invite-only group for tech founders whose companies had hit certain milestones. A support group of sorts. A place to vent frustrations, share struggles, and swap strategy in private — away from the judgmental ears of investors.

Why, you ask, should such a group exist? Because try telling your mom that you blew your tech budget on an agency that didn’t have a full stack tech team.

Or, one person might say, “I’m being sued.”

“Me, too!” “So are we!” “Us too!” would echo through the room.

“A former employee has gone unhinged and is cyber-stalking our team.”

“Yep,” an invariable reply. “We’ve dealt with that. Here’s how we handled it.”

Hence, the ultimate support group. Our moderator explained the rules. #1: Confidentiality. Got it. #2: No judgment. Also got it.

Rule #3? Share your experiences all you want. But DON’T. GIVE. ADVICE.

Say, what?

Wasn’t this the support group to end all support groups? How do you not give advice?

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