Love Your Critics

Written By Jeremy Utley

André 3000 and Rick Rubin get deep into the creative process in a recent conversation on Rick’s podcast, Broken Record. There’s a fascinating portion early in the conversation when they discuss how André found his voice as a young artist.

RR: “There’s no shortcuts to find your voice, you just have to do the work.”

A3: “It’s hard. I remember times when Rico Wade, there would be times when I’d come down and say Ric check this out, and he’d just get up and walk away... I’d be like, ‘Man. What’s wrong with you?’ It took me a minute to realize that wasn’t it (ie what he performed wasn’t his “authentic voice,” yet)…

Another time, I just started rapping with my normal voice, my speaking voice, and Riko said, ‘That’s it.’

And that was it.”

RR: “It’s amazing how those breakthroughs happen, almost when you’re not really looking…”

Rico Wade’s critical perspective was essential to André 3000’s development as an artist. As they say, “Love your critics.” He needed Rico to be honest. Such criticism works best as part of a learning crew, and when you’re putting work out there long before you feel it’s ready for prime time.

Encouragement and compliments may feel great — and have their place in the creative process — but many times the push we really need comes from the critics.

Related: Sharing Before You Feel Ready
Related: Rally A Cohort
Related: Enlist A Co-Conspirator

Click here to subscribe to Paint & Pipette, the weekly digest of these daily posts.

Featured
Never Too Old to Learn: How Experience Gives You an “AI Edge”
Never Too Old to Learn: How Experience Gives You an “AI Edge”

Growth mindset expert Diane Flynn shares insights and advice for a more experienced generation of workers who might feel somewhat hesitant to embrace the collaborative superpowers of GenAI.

Stop Hiding Your AI Use (And Make Your Team Stop, Too)
Stop Hiding Your AI Use (And Make Your Team Stop, Too)

Right now, in boardrooms and Slack channels across the globe, leaders are inadvertently creating a culture of AI shame. They're reinforcing the very hesitation they should be helping their teams overcome. It's time for an intervention.

Establish An Input Practice
Establish An Input Practice

The quality of our thinking is deeply influenced by the diversity of the inputs we collect. Implementing practices like Brian Grazer’s “Curiosity Conversations” ensures innovators are well-equipped with a variety of high-quality raw material for problem-solving.

Beware the Siren Call of the Wrong Question
Beware the Siren Call of the Wrong Question

The first question an innovator must answer is not “can I make it?” but rather, “should I?” This has become something of a mantra among CEOs I work with, as a needful protection against the gravitational pull of the organizational bureaucracy.

Practice Process Mindfulness
Practice Process Mindfulness

One of the defining contributions the d.school is helping teams ask themselves, “What kind of thinking is appropriate, when?” We call such clarity being “Mindful of Process.” And it can seem like semantics until you realize we need to show up in different ways.

Try This Now to Build AI Muscles
Try This Now to Build AI Muscles

You’re probably getting fat on AI content: bingeing podcasts, hoarding newsletter tips, saving Twitter threads... While it feels productive, all that consumption is just giving you a knowledge sugar high. And like any sugar high, it’ll crash—leaving you with exactly zero new capabilities.

Wander With Purpose
Wander With Purpose

The most inventive folks I’ve studied are disciplined about seeking inspiration. If you don’t make time to get out of the box, you will not be able to think out of the box, either. It’s not that complicated, but it requires you obliterate clean compartmentalization in favor of messy meandering.

Host A Science Fair
Host A Science Fair

While the winding road to innovation often only makes sense in retrospect, that doesn’t mean you can’t bend the odds. One of my favorite prospective strategies an organization can employ is the classic science fair... but you must approach it correctly.

Who Will Lead the AI Charge?
Who Will Lead the AI Charge?

NYU Chief AI Architect Conor Grennan makes a strong case for why GenAI shouldn't be an IT capability, but rather, championed by HR. He argues that the folks responsible for human behavior change need to be leading the charge.

Do Work For Free
Do Work For Free

In this special guest post, Mo Bunnell, Author of Give to Get, makes a compelling case for a counterintuitive strategy: giving gifts of your expertise as a way to build relationship and give clients a taste for your unique value proposition.

Jeremy Utley
Previous

Capture Inspiration
Next

Be Skeptical