Criticism as a Key Skill to Navigate the 21st Century
To cope with an ever-increasing information flow, we need to distinguish.
Don’t criticize! This is what you have probably heard more than once in your life. Criticism is bad. So don’t do it. This article makes the case for more critical criticism skills.
Missing Feedback — Failing Economies
Finally, after a long COVID travel ban, my girlfriend and I spent the summer away from home on the west coast of France. Surfing, yoga, and recharging were on the agenda. We booked two weeks of „Glamping“. We really were looking forward to our first holidays in ages. But we found something that we weren’t expecting.
After doing some research online, we found a surf & yoga camp that suited our needs with high ratings on Google (4.5/ 5 stars). The pictures were looking great. But we soon had to find out that they did not fit reality. The quality of the camp was nothing like the online impressions and expectations. The food was bad, the surf teachers unmotivated, the tents … well see for yourself! After these disappointing holidays, we ask ourselves: How could it be that the quality of the camp had such a discrepancy between what was promised and still had a good online rating on various platforms?
Out of about 100 Google ratings for the camp, just one person hit the hammer on the nail. He differentiated well between the individual activities (yoga was great, but food and surfing were below average) and critically judged the overall experience with a low rating. The majority gave rather short feedback while their overall rating was relatively high. If guests would have been more critical in their ratings, we would obviously not have booked the camp. Other guests would not have booked it. The market would have corrected by making the owner improve the quality, lowering the price, or forcing the business out of the market. Every guest would have profited from a more critical assessment of reality. So why did they gave rather high ratings compared to their reported experiences?
The Art of Critical Thinking
One answer was presented to me in a book that I read during my holidays and which insights I would like to share here. It basically stated that in our modern times, it became a fashion to avoid distinctions and judgments (or ratings) to minimize the experience of conflict.
Additionally, the common confusion between criticism and prejudice is a factor for not giving critical feedback. Essentially, criticism means to form opinions after observing reality while prejudice means to form opinions before observing reality. Prejudice is the kind of bias that makes the stand of critical criticism difficult. Criticism is however important for any growth process. It is the ability to make significant distinctions to make good decisions.
Therefore, investing energy and time in the skill of giving critical criticism is well spent (which doesn’t mean being rude or angry). Because when we learn how to form our own opinions, it is useful to consider how others think about the same issue. Some people reject forming opinions due to the misguided intention to be open to other people’s opinions. But rather than openness, these people often impose a strict anti-judgment dogma on others. Ultimately, when we practice and master critical criticism, we become more open to other viewpoints.
Due to these lessons learned about criticism, we decided to write a rating after our trip to the camp and promised ourselves to stick to this habit. Because it creates transparency for others, allows us to practice the skill of giving critical criticism, and helps the market to form itself in a more powerful way. Especially in today's information society, critical criticism — not prejudice — is a necessary skill to navigate us and others through life.
Questions? Have any lessons that I missed? Need to brainstorm a topic you’d like to explore? Share below in the comments — I’d love to hear them! If you like to hear more about my perspectives on sustainability, innovation, and change, feel free to follow me on Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/gregor-braun
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Gregor Braun is a Sustainability Manager, Consultant, and Scientist in Switzerland. Gregor works closely with industrial partners to develop actionable sustainability strategies. He writes about science, innovation & transformation.
