Sometimes our greatest ideas can turn out to be lethal creations if left in their infant stages. Thus the importance of surrounded ourselves with people who can point out the dangers we often miss.
Three tips on the process of prepping for criticism:
1.) Map everything to its fullest as you see it in your head: Often we don’t get good input on a plan because we inadvertently leave out components we think are irrelevant. Sometimes the most fringe idea can make or break a project, and to the experienced eye, the most mundane things can sometimes be the most poignant, not the obvious.
2.) Give wiser, more experienced people 100% carte blanche: Nothing’s worse than having someone submit an idea that they’ve already made up their mind about. “So are you telling me or asking me?” is something we often say around our office. Make sure that people know they can have it it. Doing so will produce better ideas than you ever could have come up with on your own.
3.) Divorce yourself from your work in terms of self-adulation: No true artist, inventor, or producer can or should divorce themselves emotionally from what they’re making – doing so trumps the entire impetus of the creative process. But realizing your personal value is not bound in your ideas will go a long way in accepting critical feedback that’s essential to your project’s success. People that never finish are most often tying their self-worth to their ideas instead of who they are in Jesus. As a result thy are easily offended when hearing criticism, never realizing they’re killing their project by not receiving.
Don’t despise critique. Welcoming outside input is most often the greatest key to success (and keeps eyes from getting gouged out). ch:
