Welcome to Episode 32 of Navigating the Fustercluck—a podcast full of bite-sized insights to help you navigate the unpredictable world of creativity & marketing.My name is Wegs, like eggs with a W, joining you from Deaf Mule Studios in Dallas, where we’re here to talk about feedback. Tricky thing, feedback. The primary feedback on feedback is that nobody knows how the hell to give it. So let’s look into this a little bit.And if you have feedback on this episode on feedback, reach out to me directly at [email protected] we start in on tactics, let’s get a little humancentric here. What are the emotional issues that make feedback such a sensitive issue with so many people?A Sense of BelongingPeople want to belong to something bigger than themselves. That need may be fulfilled by a sense of nationalism, religion, a sports team or even a business. That sense of belonging is at the core of corporate cultures. People want to know what are the ideas and values that make us us. And yes, as individualistic as we may be, we’re social creatures, we’re all looking for our us.The Problem with CriticismCriticism, at a very deep level, feels like a threat, no matter how much we know, rationally, that we need it. And, of course, to the person delivering the criticism, it feels like they are delivering a message that might actually endanger another human by pushing them out of the group (“but they might quit!” is a common objection when people are asked to be more direct in their criticism).A sense of belonging is important. But that shouldn’t be an excuse for allowing groupthink. There has to be some diversity in opinion or we’ll never change. Never improve. Neither as individuals or as a company.That said, there very different ways of looking at feedback. Basically…Two Schools of Thought#1 Radical CandorRadical candor or radical transparency says that we all need to be as authentic as possible and tell it like it is. At least how it is in our minds. And if you can’t take my candor then you’ve got the problem.It’s meant to develop thick skin and cut down on any time-consuming pussyfooting around.Take Netflix for example. They have an annual Feedback Day where anyone can send feedback to whomever they choose. Their format? Start/Stop/Continue.Each person tells a colleague one thing they should start doing, one thing they should stop doing, and one thing they’re doing really well and should keep doing.Brutal vs HonestSo, while radical candor may ruffle a few feathers and heighten some insecurities, the trade-off of honesty is seen as being worth it. But to paraphrase brain scientist Jill Bolte Taylor, We’re not thinking creatures who feel, we’re feeling creatures who think. Can most of us endure radical candor? Does it matter? Not according to Ray Dalio’s book, Principles.Dalio is the founder of Bridgewater. They handle the money of people like Bill Gates. Bridgewater has a culture of tremendous achievement, combined with a determined effort to see, and deal with, the truth of things. The first chapter under “Life Principles” is “Embrace Reality and Deal With It”.But even Dalio acknowledges that “Radical Transparency” takes its toll: “While [people’s] “upper-level you’s understand the benefits of it, their “lower-level yous” tend to react with a flight-or-fight response. Adapting typically takes about eighteen months, though it varies from individual to individual, and there are those who never successfully adapt to it. And he’s ok with that. Ray even has a concept to offset some of the potential harshnesses of Radical Candor. It’s called…Caring PersonallyCaring personally acknowledges that feedback can hurt...