Create something that can get criticized
// June 21st, 2010 // 2 Comments » // Banking, Books I'm reading, Innovation, Jeff Stephens, Non-technical innovation
I have long argued–to creatives, my clients and bankers and credit union folks at large–that it’s better to create something that some people will LOVE, others will HATE…than to create something that people are indifferent to. That stands true whether you are creating an ad for the local newspaper, a brand for a new financial institution, or a presentation you will give at a conference. You need to polarize people–if you leave anyone indifferent, you have wasted your time.
As I was reading Tribes: We Need You to Lead Us by Seth Godin the other day (a book that’s been on my list forever, and I’ve finally gotten to), I realized Seth had given me a new way to phrase my message: create something that can get criticized. Our whole business culture is based on the idea of not getting criticized–the idea that criticism is a bad thing, to be avoided. The truth is that if you want to change the world (which I’m assuming you do–if not, you might want to unsubscribe from this blog), you WANT to get criticized. Because when you get criticized, it means you’ve created something WORTH reacting to. Most ideas and work is so boring that nobody reacts, because it’s not worthy of a reaction.
What can you create today that will get criticized…and therefore noticed?


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