From the time we are toddlers, criticism is personalized. It takes patience and wisdom to separate the project in front of us from the person who created it, and the shortcut of personal attacks is far too common. As a result, we hesitate to ship the work, to respond to the work of others, and most of all, to seek out more feedback. Feedback feels like criticism, and criticism feels fatal. The thing is, feedback is a gift. Feedback transformed into generous and useful criticism is priceless. Organizations that understand how to improve the work without undermining the worker create more value.
