How Radical Candor transformed our team in 4 months

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Ciao friends,

In June, we took a step that I’m really excited about: we introduced Radical Candor at Balsamiq. Four months later, I’m seeing a noticeable shift in how we work together. The rest of the team feels it too.

It all started with a simple realization: while we’ve always been kind and supportive, we weren’t being honest enough. We were avoiding the tough conversations that would help us grow. Small issues were left unaddressed, and over time, they became bigger and harder to fix.

We needed a way to make those conversations easier, while keeping the empathy we value so much.

That’s where Radical Candor came in.

Radical Candor is about balancing directness with care. At first, we thought about piloting it with the marketing team (I read the book years ago). But it quickly became clear: everyone at Balsamiq could benefit from it.

Rolling it out to the whole company was one of the best decisions we’ve made.

How we did it

One person was in charge of budget, communications, and coordinating between the team at Radical Candor and our managers. She led us in partnering with the Radical Candor team to build a remote-friendly program focused on practice.

We split the company in half (around 15 people per group) and did it all on Zoom, complete with presentations, breakout rooms, and reflection. Since we’d used role-playing exercises successfully in the past, we already had a point of view on what would and wouldn’t work for the company.

Session 1: Getting aligned

In the first session, we focused on understanding what Radical Candor really means. We used real examples from our work to bring these ideas to life. By the end, we had a shared vocabulary and a better idea of how Radical Candor would fit into our culture.

Session 2: Practice makes progress

The second session was all about practice. We split into smaller groups, kept managers separate from their direct reports, and focused on role-playing feedback scenarios. The role-playing exercises made feedback feel more natural and gave us a chance to work through discomfort in a supportive setting. The goal was to create a space where people could try, fail, and improve.

Post-session follow-ups

After the workshops, we gave every team member a copy of the book, Radical Candor. We didn’t make it mandatory, but some teams took it up as a book club.

The Radical Candor team also provided options for follow-up resources—emails, quizzes, and tools to help keep the momentum going. Each manager was free to decide how to keep Radical Candor alive in their teams.

What we’ve learned

Our post-workshop surveys were overwhelmingly positive, and now that we’re four months in, we’re starting to see the long-term benefits.

1:1s are more meaningful. Before, 1:1s often felt like status updates. Now, they’ve become deeper, more productive conversations. We’re no longer avoiding the hard topics like performance issues.
Helpful conversations happen sooner. Previously, we waited until problems became too big to ignore. Now, those conversations happen earlier, while things are more manageable.
Feedback flows in both directions. We’re seeing more upward feedback. People who used to hesitate are now speaking up, which helps managers improve, too.
Confidence is growing. More people are contributing in meetings, offering feedback and ideas with a lot more confidence.

What’s next

We’re still working to make Radical Candor a permanent part of our culture. Along with other frameworks, it’s helping us grow, communicate better, and do our best work. We’re not done, but it feels like we’re on the right track.

Want to try Radical Candor?

We went big on formal training, but you don’t have to. You can start small—read the book, practice feedback with a colleague, and build it into your routine.

If you’re looking for something in between the book and a full workshop, our friends at Radical Candor are offering a 40% discount on their Learn From the Expert course. It’s a one-hour self-guided course designed for individuals, with practical tips you can use right away. Just use the code CANDOR at checkout.

We don’t usually share offers, but we deeply believe in Radical Candor. Let me know if you have any questions or if you decide to give it a try

Happy customer of the month

Spotted: Balsamiq wireframes in a keynote by Marcello Majonchi, CPO of Arduino, at the Product Heroes conference. He said Balsamiq has "saved his life several times."

Product news

We’ve made a few behind-the-scenes improvements to make your experience smoother—like speeding up load times and squashing bugs. But here’s what we’re really excited about: new dashboard and data templates!

Check them out in Balsamiq Cloud.

And if dashboards aren’t your thing right now, we’d still love your help! Would you help us make Balsamiq better? We’d love to talk to you about teamwork with Balsamiq Cloud.

Academy news

Some highlights from October:

Using wireframes with agile user stories
Why wireframes are still relevant (send this one to a friend)
Wireframing tips for getting “unstuck”

Company News

While Radical Candor has been a big focus for us lately, we’ve also started rolling out EOS (Entrepreneurial Operating System) across Balsamiq this week. We’re in the early stages and will likely share more after we’ve given it time.

If you have experience with it, we’d love to hear your thoughts.

That's it for this month!

Thanks for reading, and feel free to hit reply with any questions, stories, or feedback. See you next month with more behind-the-scenes updates from your friends at Balsamiq.

Arielle for the Balsamiq Team

Most new customers find Balsamiq via recommendation...

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How Radical Candor transformed our team in 4 months

How we did it

Session 1: Getting aligned

Session 2: Practice makes progress

Post-session follow-ups

What we’ve learned

What’s next

Want to try Radical Candor?

Happy customer of the month

Product news

Academy news

Company News

That's it for this month!

Most new customers find Balsamiq via recommendation...

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