Change Agent - Issue 46

I'm not proposing that you run off and try whatever crazy idea pops into your head, ignoring constructive criticism that can make it better. I am asking, though, that when attending a meeting, follow these three rules:

Criticize an idea based on how well it meets its objectives. If you don't like the objectives, criticize those separately.

Fairly compare the idea to the status quo, warts and all. No fair accepting your current problems just because you already have them.

If you don't like the idea, it's your job to come up with something better by Friday. No solution is not a solution.

Oh, and one last thing. If you're planning to write a review on Amazon, please remember what I learned from my grandmother: "If you don't have anything nice to say.... "

Seth Godin (sgodin@fastcompany.com) is the author of Permission Marketing: Turning Strangers Into Friends, and Friends Into Customers (Simon & Schuster, 1999) and Unleashing the Ideavirus (Do You Zoom Inc., 2000). Get his latest book free on the Web (www.ideavirus.com).