I’ve taken big risks, dug deep, stretched big. I’ve had triumphant wins and terrible failures. All along the way critics gave me (and my teams, companies, agencies) too much credit for the wins and too much blame for the failures.

But they made us better.

Critics have the benefit of hindsight yet never get the whole story right. They almost always miss the nuance, the critical details, the giant hurdles that needed to be overcome.

But they often raise good points.

Critics have to fill a page, meet a deadline, create drama where there is none. They are naysayers. Can’t be done. Won’t be done. Shouldn’t be done. You can’t do it.

And in us, they create a healthy drive.

I’m 99.9 percent sure I’ll never be a critic in my work life. But my work life is better because, sometimes, I listen to critics.

-Joe
joseph@perello.net