Sunday, 9.25pm
Sheffield, U.K.
We all need people who will give us feedback. That’s how we improve. – Bill Gates
I think I’m lucky.
I’ve had the opportunity recently to get feedback on pieces of work, ranging from academic writing to business propositions.
And I have to tell you – it’s been brutal.
I can’t say that’s it’s undeserved, though – I can see the points being made and they are helpful – the point of having a peer review is to make the work better.
And that’s something you don’t get if you write a blog or even a book.
You get indirect feedback by the number of likes or reviews, perhaps even sales.
But you don’t get a clear analysis of whether you made your ideas clear or if you missed something big.
In fact, if you’re a big name author or renowned in your field then you’ll get even less feedback because people will be scared of telling you that something is wrong.
Even my barber asked for feedback the other day – he said that most people will say it’s fine even if they don’t think much of their haircut.
That’s the problem much of the time – you don’t get to learn what others think of your work.
Usually you’re just ignored.
Which is why, even though the feedback I’ve received is negative, I think I’m lucky.
Because I now have a chance to get better.
Cheers,
Karthik Suresh
Handcrafted insight 