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 hear 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 with municipal bureaucracy. Even in
Speaker 1: our own homes, plans developed by one family member may
Speaker 1: be critiqued by another. If you propose going to the
Speaker 1: amusement park, a proposal that seems like a surefire winner,
Speaker 1: you may get gripes from your kids that they never
Speaker 1: get to go on the fun rides because the little
Speaker 1: siblings are too short for them, or that the nearby
Speaker 1: park is boring and they want to go to one
Speaker 1: that's a three hour drive away, and so forth. But
Speaker 1: whatever the context, when someone has done a lot of
Speaker 1: research and spend a lot of time and effort pulling
Speaker 1: something together, it is not fair to simply oppose the idea.
Speaker 1: Anyone objecting has a responsibility to suggest something reasonable that
Speaker 1: they would be in favor of. Feedback is fine, but
Speaker 1: we need to be constructive, not negative. If an activity gets
Speaker 1: mixed reactions from your kids, you could suggest everyone come
Speaker 1: up with three ideas that they would be excited about
Speaker 1: and see where there's overlap. Maybe there will be. We
Speaker 1: can hope those people objecting to the fourth of July
Speaker 1: cookout they definitely need to take on a leadership role
Speaker 1: in the neighborhood association so they can share their great
Speaker 1: ideas and also put in the sweat equity necessary to
Speaker 1: plan next year and at work. If people have ideas
Speaker 1: for improving things, they definitely should be part of the
Speaker 1: appropriate planning groups and they may take you up on
Speaker 1: that offer, and they will call ten area restaurants next
Speaker 1: time to get bids on the catering and see if
Speaker 1: they can do better, and they might try to get
Speaker 1: out of it. But at least when it is explained
Speaker 1: what is involved, people have a chance to appreciate the
Speaker 1: work that goes into planning and decisions, even if they
Speaker 1: do still pout about it. I am not saying that
Speaker 1: ideas shouldn't be critiqued and that feedback isn't helpful. I
Speaker 1: am just saying that when someone is critiquing, they should
Speaker 1: be asked to offer practical ideas on what can be
Speaker 1: done differently, rather than just complaining or as someone once
Speaker 1: put it all in favor, say I all opposed can
Speaker 1: serve on the committee next time. In the meantime, this
Speaker 1: is Laura. Thanks for listening, and here's to making the
Speaker 1: most of our time. Hey, everybody, I'd love to hear
Speaker 1: from you. You can send me your tips, your questions,
Speaker 1: or anything else.
Speaker 2: Just connect with me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at
Speaker 2: Before Breakfast pod that's b E the number four, then
Speaker 2: Breakfast p o D. You can also shoot me an
Speaker 2: email at Before Breakfast Podcasts at iHeartMedia dot com.
Speaker 1: That Before Breakfast is spelled out with all the letters.
Speaker 2: Thanks so much.
Speaker 1: Should I look forward to staying in touch.
Speaker 2: Before Breakfast is a production of iHeartRadio. For more podcasts
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