Change Agent - Issue 46

According to the New York City Parks Department, there are more than 1,800 statues in the Big Apple. Famous American generals. Brilliant international poets. There's even a statue of Gandhi. But extensive research has shown that there isn't one single statue honoring the memory of a critic.

Is it just me or has criticism gotten a little out of hand? A visit to the Permission Marketing page on Amazon.com shows that my book has received more than 85 reviews. Some of them are from people who haven't even read the book. (I suspect some of them may be from people who haven't read any book.) Virtually all of the reviews (as with most book reviews) either give my book one star or five. People either praise the thing to the skies or dimiss it as a "piece of trash."

Of course, it's not just Amazon -- which recently started honoring its most prolific critics -- that is suddenly overflowing with expert commentary. Epinions.com is devoted to nothing but criticism. And there are literally thousands of bulletin boards filled with vitriolic commentary on just about everything from companies to politics.

Is all of this criticism a good thing? At first, the democratization of feedback was terrific. After all, other than a great haircut and an immodest mustache, what credentials does Gene Shalit have to review a movie on television?

But, as criticism starts to proliferate, it creates a lot of noise. Rex Reed and Roger Ebert had a lot of impact because when they started, there were just a few voices. But now, in order to cut through the clutter of criticism, you've got to yell to be heard. And that yelling can get pretty nasty.

Here are five ways to be an unfair critic:

Speak in absolutes. That film you saw last night is, of course, "the worst movie I've ever seen in my life." Heap as much negative thought into one sentence as possible.

Criticize not just the item in question but the background of the person or company responsible as well. If you can point out how much you disliked something else from this source, by all means do so. Inclusion only compounds derision.

Criticize the motivation of the creator. Maybe he's doing it just for the money. Maybe he has some sort of secret political agenda. Better yet, the person behind the creation is certainly some kind of "wannabe" -- a Robert Redford wannabe or perhaps a Tom Peters wannabe. In any event, "wannabe" is a great general put-down. Add 10 points to your critic's score.

Criticize the taste and judgment of anyone who disagrees with your criticism. An enemy of your criticism is your enemy -- and needs to be criticized. Feel free to turn your enemy's criticism back on him -- and score extra points if you use his own words against him.

Make threats in your criticism. Possibilities include threats to "tell everyone" or to destroy the reputation or property of the person you are criticizing. Alternatively, you can claim that you were threatened -- and that the vituperation of your criticism is only one measure of your unwillingness to bow to threats.

Now, don't get the wrong idea: I'm not hoping that you'll feel sorry for me and for the thousands of other authors and product creators who regularly see their work criticized by uneducated, anonymous teenagers with a complexion problem (not that it bothers me, of course; I'm not thin-skinned). But the new culture of criticism is hurting you and your company.

Why is it that as soon as a company becomes successful, it ceases to innovate? How is it that the founders of a company seemingly forget, just a few years after they've founded their breakthrough venture, that it was an innovation that got them there? They didn't achieve success by worrying about doing the same old thing out of fear of criticism; they achieved it by being willing to take a risk and break the rules.

So here they are: the three criticism curses that make companies put the breaks on innovation (and worse, put their best employees -- the innovators -- on the defensive):

Successful companies fear external criticism.

Successful innovators are more subject to harsh criticism.

The newer, less innovative employees have carte blanche to criticize the innovators unfairly.

Did you ever notice that critics are more likely to be harsh to movies and books that come with high expectations? Ask for a list of the worst movies ever made, and people will mention Waterworld, Ishtar, or some other big-budget spectacular. Surely, these movies aren't as bad as some $100,000 exploitation flick made in Tallahassee, Florida over a long weekend. Yet we're quick to assault them because we're so certain that the folks who squandered all of that money deserve our harsh assessment.