Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning.
Speaker 1: This is Laura, Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's
Speaker 1: tip is that if you don't like a plan others
Speaker 1: have developed, you have a responsibility to offer a reasonable alternative.
Speaker 1: You can also set that as an expectation when others
Speaker 1: offer feedback. That is the difference between complaining and being constructive.
Speaker 1: These days, we take it for granted that getting feedback
Speaker 1: is a good thing and that hearing multiple viewpoints helps
Speaker 1: us make better decisions. Often that is true, two heads
Speaker 1: can be better than one, and so forth. But there
Speaker 1: is a difference between constructive feedback and complaining, and unfortunately,
Speaker 1: the latter is quite common, even in situations where the
Speaker 1: plans have involved a lot of work. I am sure
Speaker 1: you have experienced this. Your team labors for weeks to
Speaker 1: draw up programming for your office retreat, and then someone
Speaker 1: spends the whole time complaining that the food was better
Speaker 1: two years ago when it was catered by a restaurant
Speaker 1: that has since gone out of business, and so wasn't
Speaker 1: an option this time around. Anyway, If your neighborhood association
Speaker 1: planned a neighborhood cookout for July fourth, instead of the
Speaker 1: usual Fourth of July bicycle parade. Because your township made
Speaker 1: it a lot harder to get a permit to close roads.
Speaker 1: You will, no doubt here complaints from families who wanted
Speaker 1: to do things the way the neighborhood has always done it,
Speaker 1: even if that was impossible municipal bureaucracy. Even in our
Speaker 1: own homes, plans developed by one family member may be
Speaker 1: critiqued by another. If you propose going to the amusement park,
Speaker 1: a proposal that seems like a surefire winner, you may
Speaker 1: get gripes from your kids that they never get to
Speaker 1: go on the fun rides because the little siblings are
Speaker 1: too short for them, or that the nearby park is
Speaker 1: boring and they want to go to one that's a
Speaker 1: three hour drive away, and so forth. But whatever the context,
Speaker 1: when someone has done a lot of research and spend
Speaker 1: a lot of time and effort pulling something together, it
Speaker 1: is not fair to simply oppose the idea. Anyone objecting
Speaker 1: has a responsibility to suggest something reasonable that they would
Speaker 1: be in favor of. Feedback is fine, but we need
Speaker 1: to be constructive, not negative. If an activity gets mixed
Speaker 1: reactions from your kids, you could suggest everyone come up
Speaker 1: with three ideas that they would be excited about and
Speaker 1: see where there's overlap. Maybe there will be. We can
Speaker 1: hope those people objecting to the fourth of July cookout
Speaker 1: they definitely need to take on a leadership role in
Speaker 1: the neighborhood association so they can share their great ideas
Speaker 1: and also put in the sweat equity necessary to plan
Speaker 1: next year and at work. If people have ideas for
Speaker 1: improving things, they definitely should be part of the appropriate
Speaker 1: planning groups and they may take you up on that offer,
Speaker 1: and they will call ten area restaurants next time to
Speaker 1: get bids on the catering and see if they can
Speaker 1: do better, and they might try to get out of it.
Speaker 1: But at least when it is explained what is involved,
Speaker 1: people have a chance to appreciate the work that goes
Speaker 1: into planning and decisions, even if they do still pout
Speaker 1: about it. I am not saying that ideas shouldn't be
Speaker 1: critiqued and that feedback isn't helpful. I am just saying
Speaker 1: that when someone is critiquing, they should be asked to
Speaker 1: offer practical ideas on what can be done differently, rather
Speaker 1: than just complaining or as someone once put it all
Speaker 1: in favor, say I all opposed can serve on the
Speaker 1: committee next time. In the meantime, this is Laura. Thanks
Speaker 1: for listening, and here's to making the most of our time. Hey, everybody,
Speaker 1: I'd love to hear from you. You can send me
Speaker 1: your tips, your questions, or anything else. Just connect with
Speaker 1: me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at Before Breakfast Pod.
Speaker 1: That's b E the number four then Breakfast pod. You
Speaker 1: can also shoot me an email at Before Breakfast Podcasts
Speaker 1: at iHeartMedia dot com. That Before Breakfast is spelled out
Speaker 1: with all the letters. Thanks so much. Should I look
Speaker 1: forward to staying in touch. Before Breakfast is a production
Speaker 1: of iHeartRadio. For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app,
Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.