Negative Feedback Does Not Exist

We often hear others write or say "I got negative feedback", or "I only heard bad things" when ideas are shared. I believe there really is no such thing as negative feedback. Any advice you get can be used for positive purposes. I've come up with a basic way to go about explaining how I view positive and negative feedback. Imagine you have the task of running a survey across 200 people at a conference. Your purpose lies in finding out what they like, what they believe needs to be changed, and seeking out any issues that may have been avoided. When you are done, it is unlikely that you'll go back and ask each of the survey participants for the reason they selected survey answers the way in which they did.  It doesn't work that way. 

Surveys are a one-way collection method and they are meant to be utilized with  a purpose. A survey has the primary purpose of collecting both positive and negative opinions from a group of people on specific topics. Asking individuals or groups for feedback should be treated in the same manner: 

 feedback = opinion (points of view) = mini surveys (two way) 

When we form ideas and ask opinions of things we'd like to execute or conceptualize, we need to understand our goal is to Ask => Retrieve It => Clarify => Repeat Clarifying why we get negative feedback is more important than defending ourselves by trying to diminish the source of the feedback. Apply what you learn from negative feedback, and you will end up with more positive feedback when you run another survey. 

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 A good article on negative criticism: What is the best way to handle negative criticism?

Bad Ideas Can Be Transformed

Whether we have bad ideas, or very good ideas, we get very attached to them. We guard them as secrets in our heads. Sometimes (maybe most of the time) we fantasize about our ideas more than we actually work at materializing them (e.g prototypes, presentations, making wire-frames, collaborating with others, business, organization, group, etc).


Every day, there are hundreds -- even thousands of good and bad ideas being conceived and implemented. Imagine if we could join our brains like clusters of computers and share it's output. This is what communication does. Communication at its core allows us to our share thoughts, ideas, and points of view. We can gather feedback, work together,  and exchange emotions. I personally don't like when somebody tells me "I don't like it", or asks,  "What does it do?", or "What is it for?". It is much better to hear, "Oh, I get it..", "I love it!", "When are you launching?", or "Wow, people could use something like that!". As we build and conceptualize our thoughts, we need to ask questions of more people, gather even more feedback, form lots opinions, bounce ideas more, and simplify them. Think of this as a factory with the high speed factor in place (How to Kill Your Ideas). Don't ask questions with the line of thought, "Why shouldn't it work?" . Instead, ask "Why will this work?" questions. You can read more about asking the right questions in the article called "How I brew ideas like Flash". Nobody's opinion that your idea is a bad idea matters. You have to sort through the feedback and draw your own conclusions. I won't let negative feedback bring me down. If somebody were to come to  me and tell me that I have bad ideas,  my response will be "How could it be better?"

Generate Ideas Like Flash

It is easy to generate ideas. The work comes with separating the good from the bad and then executing a plan. I wrote a post a while ago named "Stop the Idea Frenzy", in which I explained how I managed to stop the impulse to gather ideas, and execute them instead. Some have asked what I do to come up with ideas so fast. Let's see... We talk to lots different people everyday.  This usually starts with the closest ones to us. This could include family, neighbors, friends, work colleagues, gas station clerk, your coffee server, etc). Now, consider how you would like to improve on something that affects your own and others' lives, then think about how you'll do it if everything you think is needed is already available. For  example, money, time, market, supporters... . Once you generate ideas, then you have 50 million people fill out a survey to answer any doubts on your solutions. Well, here's the trick: You cannot do  that type of survey for every single thing you believe could be better.

How I Generate Ideas

I ask my closest circle questions in this context:
  • Imagine if we had a ______ , wouldn't that be nice?
  • If you had something to do ____, how would you do it?
  • What do you think would work to make this useful?
To generate ideas that are useful, you must learn to ask the right questions to reinforce (not validate) your feelings, listen with your built-in mega recorder (your brain), play back your day as much as possible, and carefully mix your thoughts to find a common thread.  When you practice this type of brainstorming,  you will strengthen your skills and learn how to generate ideas like Flash. 

Is it possible to steal ideas?

After a two hour discussion on the subject of ideas and innovation, my mother in law introduced a question she believed I could answer. The question was as follows: "Is it true that the Facebook guy stole somebody's idea, as the movie portrays?" It was a very good question. I knew I could only answer by defining the idea of an idea.  I've seen the movie (good one by the way), but I really don't know the whole story behind the start of the idea , and I have never been interested in the conception of Facebook.  In fact, "The Social Network"  does not influence my thinking, but it has reinforced my feelings towards idea execution and business. I do not believe it is possible to steal ideas. 

My answer was as follows: "No, he didn't stole somebody's idea. Nobody "owns" an idea. You can't patent an idea. You patent the process. A working concept is a process being built, not an idea." I have come to understand that we tend to ask questions which consciously and unconsciously align in one way or another to our thoughts and needs for information. We complete our own theories with questions and we answer these with communication, reading and vision. This natural process helps us form opinions which in turn helps form ideas, concepts (sets of ideas which interact), and vision. The world is not inundated with "idea thieves", it is not possible to steal ideas.   There are many examples we could use around this topic. My belief is that this one in particular (Facebook), became popular because of its tremendous success as a social networking platform. An idea is a thought about how something should work. It is an answer to a question that has been generated by the mind. An idea is  not a fully proven step-by-step guide you can follow through with ease of completion. People have to build their ideas into concepts and then follow through by making and executing a plan.

People do not steal ideas.

However, people have been known to steal a plan. 

 "The unanswered question is the one unasked." - Unknown

How to Use Feedback

We tend to depend on feedback to decide whether an idea is valid or whether it should be tossed aside.  Over time, I have learned that negative feedback is considered to be criticism. There is even a special name for it. It is called "constructive criticism", but what does that actually mean? Criticism is not constructive unless you know how to use feedback to build on your success. Gathering both positive and negative feedback is indeed an important part of forming ideas, both in business and in every day life. It should not be confused with validation. 

I've trained myself to abstain from replying to the feedback of others. It doesn't matter whether I hear it, or read it.  I collect this information in order to use feedback. I analyze it, and put the results into action.

How to Use Feedback Constructively

Ask yourself:
  • Why did I ask for feedback (not sure, different views, spot checking, opinions)?
  • What can I accomplish with it?
Remember: Feedback is not only about validation.   When compiling feedback, go through the answers you receive and ask yourself: Should I respond to it with anything with another question (another feedback request),  or simply thank the responder for their input? Whether it is positive or negative, we must stop arguing about it, and learn how to respond to and use feedback.

Executing Ideas Is Not About Speed

I've come to learn (the hard way) over the years that executing ideas is all about motion, not speed. So what do I mean by motion and  not speed? Let me explain.


We entrepreneurs, creatives and visionaries are:
* great thinkers (over thinkers too) * confident of our own intelligence * unique in how we feel * driven by motivation I believe and have learned from experience that idea execution is all about motion not speed. This is proven. If you want to be successful, concentrate on executing ideas, not the speed. Sometimes we stop moving the ball forward with nonsense considerations trapped within our heads. This is often caused by our own impatience. Rather than keeping ideas in motion, we are overly concerned with how fast we can implement those ideas.

 
A reader compared this to the story of  the tortoise and the hare. My response was "Exactly!". In order to make ideas come to life we have to focus on  executing (staying in motion) ideas better and not on trying to get "there" faster.  Do not push so hard that your once-wonderful ideas exhaust themselves and end up resting by the roadside. Execute ideas with the determination of continuance.

The Death of an Idea

The death of an idea is not always a bad thing. You most likely have at least 20 ideas that you strongly believe could succeed if you could only figure out how to implement them. Some of these do become a burden. You may even endlessly ruminate on your own unproven theories without stopping to realize that your theories may not be built on good ideas. If you evaluate objectively, you will start to find ways your idea could fail. Rather than giving in to the endless evaluation, you might consider that it is time to kill it.

 
If you are not able to invert thoughts towards thinking of ways these could succeed and how you'll best execute, kill the idea. I mean scratch it; delete it; overwrite it... just get over the death of an idea and move on. I have done this many times.
Your time is precious, so you better use it on ideas that have a chance at life. Hint: I apply this iteration method to just about any thought. It WORKS.

Form Ideas Without Trying to be Nostradamus


We all form ideas around how we can make or improve on things.  I probably have 200+ ideas for creating web applications on my list, some of which are new, unproven concepts. The cold truth is that we think too much about consequences when we form ideas. I call these the "What If's".
I am not saying that we shouldn't plan, contemplate, compare, analyze competition, or take time to be sure of what we're embarking on.
My point is simple: Doubt and uncertainty will always exist to some extent. The key is in training yourself to trust yourself more, follow your gut, and believe that every successful idea ever created started the same way -- as a simple thought. Unfortunately, most of us cannot predict the future, but we can decide where we want to go. In my case, I've decided I wanted to dedicate my life to working with computers, programming, technology, entrepreneurship, family life, ideas, helping people... Don't try to predict the future....when you form ideas, you can't be Nostradamus!

Think Less of these:
  • What if it doesn't work?
  • What if people don't like it?
  • What if I run out of money?
  • What if I'm completely alone?
  • What could happen?
  • What will it take?
  • What if others think I'm crazy?
Do more of this:
  • Gather feedback, good or bad.
  • Figure out how you'll explain your idea to others in less than 150 characters.
  • Decide what you want to pursue in life (or which ideas to execute).
  • Measure your passion about what you're doing.
  • Find out what's holding you up and overcome this (fear,past experiences of failure,innovation,perception or the What If's)
  • Trust yourself when you form ideas

Quitting Your Day Job Nuts?

This is not intended for us as a guide which could ultimately lead you to quit your day job and/or abandon your daily responsibilities. I'll try to explain my reasoning behind the decision to leave a very cool day job as an Information Technology professional where I really was pulling in enough money. Some would say that making the decision to quit your day job when it offers financial security is completely nuts.


 There are a few things to point out before we dive into story mode.....
  • I'm not a professional blogger (please bear with me).
  • I do like to write and share my experiences (good or bad).
  • I didn't have tons of money saved or ready to burn (enough to reset, I'll explain more).
  • I didn't have anybody suggesting I should quit my day job. (really...).
  • I had previously run a small business for 5-6 straight years (with both good and failures).
  • I like telling you about my story.  I think you'll get something good out of it.
I have to admit that through the years while operating a small consulting / web design office,  I became addicted to working on stuff I created, conceptualized, planted, built on so much that it' has become a part of me. Interestingly enough, I've found out that what I appreciated  the most about running the business was not the freedom or the money, it was the relationships I was able to build with people. I've come to realize, after being five years out on the entrepreneur wagon, those relationships are what I've missed the most ,and of course the building blocks part (custom web, systems, design, etc) which was the door or medium to start those relationships. You see, I was good at web design and computer consulting, but it was the passion behind it that made the business work and the relationships grow. I still use my passion. I may be nuts, but still, I  was able to quit my day job.  If you think you might be nuts to quit your day job, consider this: If you have that gut instinct -- that passion, you can make a go of your ideas without feeling that you have sacrificed too much.

Stop the idea frenzy!

A few days ago I found myself with thoughts in my head which where becoming more painful as time went by. I was generating so many ideas that I could not even track them all, let alone write them down before I had forgotten them. It bothered me that I was forgetting some of these almost instantly. Some of those I had forgotten, I had believed were very good (really bad concepts in reality).
Why was I worried about writing down ideas (good or bad)? I had even perfected idea note writing to multiple scenarios. I kept a piece of paper ready in my pocket, I had my mobile notes @evernote,  and even had photos of random pieces of paper I used to write down anything I liked to do -- after all, those ideas might just change the world... . I couldn't stop! I started reading books on how to stop this idea frenzy and start creating.
  • Why didn't I execute any of the ideas I had collected over the years?
  • Was it because of  previous failure?
  • Am I afraid to be successful?
  • Am I afraid of having too much success? Is there such thing?
After long nights without sleep an reading until words were blurring on the page, I learned that 100 ideas later (most of them really bad ones),  I WASN'T STARTING ANYTHING! Every thought I wrote down was pushing the success wagon farther away from me. Each new idea kept me from acting on the ideas I already had. How did I get out of the idea frenzy? After reading a handful of good books from "Making Ideas Happen" to those authored by Seth Godin , I noted that they all said the same thing: Just DO it! Start! Start! Start! This is what worked for me: I stopped the idea frenzy. I picked the three that made the most sense, scratched two, and executed one!! It is time to start something -- anything! Just move in one direction (forward) and have fun while you do it.