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Most people fear public feedback. It’s uncomfortable, sometimes embarrassing, and can feel like an attack. But according to Jensen Huang, the legendary founder of NVIDIA, keeping feedback private is actually a huge mistake.
"I give you feedback right there in front of everybody. And in fact, this is really a big deal. First of all, feedback is learning."
Photo: Rick Wilking/Reuters
For Huang, feedback isn’t just about the person receiving it—it’s about the entire team learning from it.
Think about it. Why should only one person learn from a mistake? If someone messes up, everyone should understand what went wrong and how to fix it. One person’s mistake should become everyone’s lesson.
Why Public Feedback Works: Turning Mistakes into Case Studies
Huang compares this approach to case studies.
"Why learn from your own mistakes? Why learn from your own embarrassment? You got to learn from other people's embarrassment. That’s why we have case studies."
This makes sense. Business schools teach by analyzing other companies' failures so students don’t have to repeat them. So why not do the same inside your company?
Instead of hiding mistakes in private meetings, exposing them (in a constructive way) helps the entire team level up faster.
Example: Amazon’s “Correction of Errors” Reports
At Amazon, when something goes wrong—whether it’s a failed product launch or a system crash—the company doesn’t just move on.
They conduct a “Correction of Errors” (COE) report, a deep dive into:
✔️ What went wrong
✔️ Why it happened
✔️ How to prevent it from happening again
These reports aren’t hidden away in emails. They’re shared company-wide, so everyone learns. This is exactly what Huang is talking about: making mistakes public learning moments.
Lesson: If you only correct mistakes in private, you miss the opportunity to improve everyone.
Breaking the One-on-One Feedback Myth
Most companies believe one-on-one feedback is better. The logic is simple:
It protects the employee from embarrassment.
It allows for a personal, private conversation.
It feels “nicer.”
But Huang sees it differently.
"The problem I have with one-on-ones and taking feedback aside is you deprive a whole bunch of people that same learning."
Yes, one-on-one feedback protects the individual. But it slows down the learning process for everyone else. Instead of one person improving, an entire team could be growing together.
Example: Netflix’s Radical Transparency Culture
Netflix is famous for its no-nonsense feedback culture. At their all-hands meetings, executives openly discuss what’s working and what’s not. If an employee isn’t performing well, leadership doesn’t sugarcoat it.
Why? Because hiding feedback doesn’t make things better. It slows down progress.
The result? Netflix employees operate at an extremely high level, because they know where they stand at all times.
Lesson: If you’re too afraid to share feedback publicly, you’re missing out on faster team growth.
Public Feedback = Public Growth
Let’s be clear: public feedback isn’t about humiliating people. It’s about building a culture of fast learning.
Huang admits he’s not always right:
"Half the time, I'm not right. But for me to reason through it in front of everybody helps everybody learn how to reason through it."
Even when the leader is wrong, the act of discussing mistakes publicly improves the entire team.
Example: Elon Musk’s “Blameless Postmortems” at SpaceX
At SpaceX, when a rocket launch fails, Musk doesn’t fire people in secret. He breaks down the failure publicly so the entire company understands what happened.
The goal isn’t to blame—it’s to make sure the next launch doesn’t fail for the same reason.
Lesson: Public feedback isn’t about pointing fingers. It’s about creating a system where mistakes are fixed faster.
How to Apply This in Your Business
Not every company can operate like NVIDIA, Netflix, or SpaceX. But here’s how you can introduce public feedback without creating a toxic environment:
🔹 Normalize Mistakes – If people fear feedback, they’ll hide problems. Make it clear that mistakes are part of learning.
🔹 Focus on Growth, Not Blame – Public feedback should be about improvement, not punishment.
🔹 Create Learning Moments – Turn mistakes into team discussions. Instead of just fixing issues, ask: “What can we all learn from this?”
🔹 Lead by Example – If you want others to be open to feedback, be open to feedback yourself. Show that even leaders make mistakes.
The Bottom Line: Make Feedback a Team Sport
The best teams don’t hide from mistakes. They use them as opportunities to level up together.
So next time someone screws up, don’t just correct them privately. Turn it into a team lesson.
That’s how great companies grow.
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