Nitpickers

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Nitpickers

March 5, 2008. By Peter Lloyd

Don't you just love nitpickers? The horseflies of life's hike through the woods. And they think they're so helpful. You've just put a precious part of your life into a piece of creative work, when along come the bright-eyed, ever so helpful nitpickers, who actually think they can make it better in minute or two!

Nitpicking begins with the false assumption that a supervisor has to do something. Or that all the members of a committee have to contribute or risk looking like they're not doing their job.

Imagine what a committee could have done to the Shakespeare quote so many of us had to memorize as high school students: "To be, or not to be,--That is the question:--"

Wait a minute. "To be or not to be." That's not a question. And if it is, why does it end with a colon and a dash instead of a question mark? I'm not a playwright, but wouldn't it be more direct to say, "The question is..." Or "Here's my question..." Or "I've got this question..."

When confronted with something as timeless as Shakespeare, the safest place for the uncreative to hide is in the details, such as punctuation and literal meaning.

You've met people, I'm sure, who don't read non-fiction, because they're uncomfortable in the world of imagination. All of us are inclined one way or another with regard to the way things should be. The trouble comes when our responsibilities require us to pass judgment on work we did not do. And especially work we couldn't do if we had to. Our inclinations, taste, opinions, and prejudices hate to remain silent.

If you find yourself approving someone else's creative work, please keep these three things in mind:

You can do more by doing less.

If you've hired and assigned the right people, you don't have to change anything.

Most of the time, your most valuable contribution will be leaving well-enough alone.

Besides, you'll find you can teach and motivate a lot more effectively by allowing your subordinates to make mistakes. It's better for everyone, if you let your learn from their mistakes. Experience is a much more effective teacher than you are. Besides, most of the mistakes you overlook just might turn out not to be mistakes after all.

Peter Lloyd is co-creator with Stephen Grossman of Animal Crackers, the breakthrough problem-solving tool designed to crack your toughest business problems.

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