This is great. I have seen very frequently, people either shying away from giving any negative feedback or just letting out a mouthful, without giving a concrete improvement plan.
The only point I would add to this is having some sort of come back check to see if feedback is being acted upon and if there is improvement. Improvement needs to be encouraged to reinforce good behaviour. No change deserves analysis on reason and suitable corrective action.

Amber I like the succinctness of your article.

Harish

Love it. I see some of the same rants/complaints on the email marketing side of the world. I really loved the following statements by you:

1. “Saying that someone sucks at something because they did it poorly one time isn’t a fair statement.” – This gets to the “making it personal” part too, right?
2. “Ranting blindly rarely nets true, progressive results…Rant loudly and repeatedly as your MO, and it becomes far too easy to make a case to stop listening to you altogether.” – I’ve unfollowed many a people for this very reason. I’ve try to distance myself from the chronic complainers. I know you do too. Hmmm – this may have been due to *your* advice.

To add:

1. If you are going to rant/complain, be ready to start a conversation – engage in dialogue. Don’t rant and hide.
2. Re: “Take it to the source” … don’t forget about the phone or snail mail as that route sometimes is the most effective.

Finally, a great “life lesson” compliments of one of your readers (Mike Billeter): “Finally, after a few months of this, my boss said ‘If you can’t give me any recommendations on how to make the parts you don’t like better, your criticism does nothing to help me.’” – Mike: I had a very similar conversation w/ my boss early in my career.

Thanks, as always, Amber.

DJ Waldow
Director of Community, Blue Sky Factory
@djwaldow