Critical Mass (Part 1 in a Series)

Critical Mass usually refers to the minimum amount of material needed to maintain a nuclear chain reaction. For the sake of this entry, I will be defining Critical Mass as the amount of criticism needed to maintain a nuclear chain reaction from me.

Handling criticism is something we all must deal with some time in our lives. Some of us…..daily. Dealing with it gracefully isn’t something that is necessarily fun or easy to learn. I would have to admit there was a time in my career when I sucked at receiving criticism. OK, sometimes I still suck at it.

If you’re not open to constructive criticism, then you’re not open to truly growing as a person.

—Stephan Labossiere

Being involved in any creative endeavor (writing, composing, choreographing, designing, painting, etc.) takes courage. The person creating has to be willing to put their work “out there” for others to see, appreciate, ponder, and yes…..critique. Now, I’m not interested in discussing what constitutes proper constructive criticism at this time (maybe later), I’m more interested in how to receive criticism. Anyone who has ever had their work critiqued can probably quote things that have been said by the critic. I know I can. I can remember a judge at at a BOA regional making the comment, “Much of the drill design is pedestrian in nature…” Hmmmmm I still haven’t really figured that one out. It’s been nearly 25 years and I still hold onto that one. Was I wrong to be offended? Yes, probably. Is it okay to be disappointed when receiving criticism? Yes, definitely. It’s what I did with that disappointment that could be either good or detrimental.

If someone corrects you, and you feel offended, then you have an ego problem.

—Nouman Ali Khan

I would receive judges tapes (yes, back in olden times we used cassette tapes) after my band had competed and I would listen to them. Many times, I would find myself being offended. Why was I offended? I took things far too personally. I agreed with the judge when they said something I liked and I would get my feelings hurt when they said something negative or not to my liking. This meant I had an ego problem. I wasn’t mature enough to really handle what they were trying to do to help me improve as a teacher, designer, or director. It wasn’t until I had been in the profession for about 15 years and was myself trained as a judge that I began to head the right direction toward maturity. Notice, I’m not saying I’ve matured yet, I’m still making my way down that road. I’m still working on it. Once I began sitting on the other side of the recorder providing commentary on others’ work and having the difficult task of critiquing/evaluating performances that I saw what judging was about. I wasn’t giving feedback based on how well I liked or disliked a band, a director, a designer, a piece of music, etc. I was judging in a different state than my own and didn’t know anyone associated with about 95% of the groups I was hired to judge. I was evaluating what I saw and heard on the field within a narrow window of time. Nothing more, nothing less. This is what the judges who provided feedback to me all those years were doing and I didn’t always take advantage of that feedback. I missed out on the opportunity to grow.

Accept both compliments and criticism. It takes both sun and rain for a flower to grow.

I tell my students to always appreciate feedback. To look at the person providing that feedback and say, “Thank you.” After all, anyone providing feedback is trying to help them be a better prepared performer. I have to be willing to do this as well. To be a better designer, I have to be willing to not only put my work “out there” and wait for the criticism, but I have to be thankful for that criticism. Hopefully it won’t reach Critical Mass. Once Critical Mass was reached, nothing good could really come of it. I would shut down and stop thinking about why the judge was saying what they were saying and how I could use their comments to improve not only my band’s performance but my own.

I’ve been watching The Great British Baking Show on Netflix recently. Usually an episode each night at dinner. Now you would think watching these talented bakers turn out wonderful baked treats over and over again would make me hungry or want to immediately go bake something. No. Actually the part I find intriguing is the comradery between the competitors, the coaching, and the application of the feedback by the contestants. You can see how passionate they are about their craft, yet they don’t allow that passion to stand between them and improving. Three seasons into this show and there has only been one tense moment of drama. The drama of the show is generated by watching someone put the difficult finishing touches on a baked showstopper, not from a volatile reaction to not getting the results they desired for themselves. You just don’t see anyone reaching Critical Mass on that show, but you do see bakers grow in their skills and confidence as the season progresses. They are able to avoid Critical Mass.

I love to receive feedback from readers. Yes, really I do. Let me know you’re out there and you’ve seen this. Add some thoughts of your own. Either post them below or email me at: doug@dougbushvisualdesigns.com —DB