Mar 11
Nuances of Valuable Feedback
“Do to others as you would have them do to you” — Luke 6.31 [NIV]
Luke chapter 6 verse 31 is the basis of all western civilisation influenced social culture — and you have to discard it if you are looking for valuable feedback. No one wants to be criticised, therefore, no one wants to do it to those they love or those who are part of the group.
We live in a world of being ‘woke’, ‘supporting our own’ and entitlement to support. In this world, your identity is the currency for support; as a result, you see tags like “young” “queer” “black” “womxn” from {insert your city/country/continent here} being used as stand-alone or collectively as adjectives to describe creatives. Your identity group feels, genuinely or otherwise, obliged to support you, praise you and give you positive feedback, regardless of the quality of your work.
Universally, it is agreed that human beings need belonging. The primary groups we belong to are our family and friends. These are the people who love us unconditionally. They understand that we are idiots but they still choose to believe in us and support us. Your family and friends feel, genuinely or otherwise, obliged to support you, praise you and give you positive feedback, regardless of the quality of your work.
Then there are strangers. People who do not know you. And people who you do not know. They only know you because you promised them X and they like X. And these people will tell you whether your X is good (up to standard) or bad. They are not obliged to support or praise you (because they won’t have to deal with you in the future); if you do a good job, they will give you a standing ovation but if you do a bad job they will stop engaging you and look for someone who can give them X the way they like it.
Who should you go to for valuable feedback regarding your work?
- In 2008, before the full force of the internet, Kevin Kelly proposed that, as a creative, you only need 1000 true fans to make a sustainable living. Read the essay here. I do not know why but I thought this essay has value to what I am trying to communicate here. I hope you find value in it too.
- Tell someone you love them. I really mean it. Just tag them on Twitter and tell them you love them. No context. No because. Just say you love them. Be weird :)
See you tomorrow!
