It’s not helpful, ever, when asked for your input to list three or 10 or 20 things that need to be fixed without mentioning a single thing that is great.
I say this with humility as this isn’t a strength of mine – and I’m working on it (forever, I expect). I watch in awe (and take notes) the people to whom this comes naturally. And I empathize with the sentiment: you just want it (whatever “it” is) to be great, so let’s talk about why it’s not great yet and fix it.
The thing is, to make something great more often than not you need to amplify the things that are already really, really good.
Error correction alone does not get you to greatness.
A very timely post! Just this morning I was asked to provide feedback on a new loyalty program service soft-launched last week, and started off with several positive observations, having just read the first paragraph of this post! Thanks! You made me look good!