On a recent trip, I picked up Seth Godin’s latest book Small is the New Big (ok, I was suckered in by the cover - it’s amusing :)) and there’s an interesting section on “How to Give Feedback”. Since we’re in a private beta now, the topic of feedback is one that is on our mind. Here are the main highlights from Seth:
- Give your analysis not your opinion. Well reasoned analysis and constructive criticism helps people out a lot more than “I think that stinks”.
- Be aware of the context and give the appropriate feedback at the appropriate time. Put yourself in the shoes of the person asking of feedback to understand the kind of feedback they are looking for. If it’s early on in the cycle, then nit-picky comments on fit and finish aren’t as useful as feedback on the concept or direction.
- If you have something nice (really, anything) to say, then say it and say it first! (this one is my favorite :)) This puts the feedback recipient in a open state of mind to receive the ensuing constructive criticism. Plus, everyone likes to hear a kind word or two or three.
Pretty simple and easy to follow. I just have one more simple one I’d like to add.
- Do it and do it often. Chances are that most feedback isn’t ever responded to, but you can bet that the feedback recipient is reading it. It doesn’t hurt to hear more sides of the coin and if you don’t speak up the recipient might never know. It’s easy to get overwhelmed with other details, especially as a very small business, so the more feedback the merrier.
That’s all for now. Any feedback?
- JC
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on Aug 24th, 2006 at 3:33 pm
Hey…..are you trying to give us a guilt trip?????
on Aug 24th, 2006 at 3:41 pm
Nah, just sharing a tidbit of the book I’m reading