Ralph Lauren CEO says sometimes employees need to be ‘hit by a 2×4 across the forehead’

Ralph Lauren CEO Patrice Louvet does not mince words when it comes to providing feedback to employees. In fact, he is of the opinion that straightforward is better. Louvet’s recent appearance on a LinkedIn podcast provided some insights into his leadership philosophy.

The 60-year-old chief executive of Ralph Lauren recently appeared on LinkedIn’s This is Working podcast, where he opened up about providing negative feedback. According to Louvet, nice doesn’t cut it sometimes.

No sugarcoating

“If there’s a big issue, then you’ve got to start with the issue, and go straight on,” he said, according to Fortune. “And sometimes people need to be hit by a 2×4 across the forehead, because it doesn’t always register right.”

A 2×4 refers to a piece of lumber that's commonly used in construction. It traditionally measures 2 inches by 4 inches in cross-section (though the actual size is closer to 1.5 inches by 3.5 inches due to how it's finished).

In this case, of course, the French-born CEO of Ralph Lauren is not actually advocating physical violence against employees. Instead, his words reveal his philosophy on providing negative feedback without sugarcoating.

However, this approach is only for major issues, like missing crucial deadlines. When it comes to smaller problems, Louvet believes it is okay to focus on the employee’s strength before segueing to criticism.

“Provide the feedback through the lens that these are opportunities for development,” he said, adding that it is a lesson he learned during the nearly three decades he spent at Procter & Gamble.

“You have to spend the majority of your time on your strengths,” Louvet said. “So 80% of your time on your strengths, 20% on your opportunities. If you spend all your time on your opportunities, you’re not going to be that effective.”

Patrice Louvet has been at the helm of the iconic American fashion company Ralph Lauren since 2017.