Image via WikipediaHow we deal with failure and how we deal with comments back is just as important as how we deal with the good times, the good comments, and the praise from the group that we sometimes get. Like most people, we tend to down play the good, and focus on the bad, when the bad is meant as more of a chance to improve what you have made.

Over the weekend I sat down with some friends in a local coffee shop and talked about their launch of their product and my book. The kindest comment back on the book was “it is badly written” by someone I respect. For my friends and their shiny new startup, the system was just about universally panned as the worst thing ever was the response back from their UI testers, and from the people who tried to use their new web site.

When we got to talking about our dreams, we both think that we have great ideas, but maybe need a bit more help in those areas where we are weak. I could have used a few more test readers, and an editor, I could also go back to school and learn how to write better, learn how to use the tools of English, grammar and spelling to deliver a more cogent story. My friends could go back and redesign the UI for their system, speed it up, take out some of the dependencies that were causing slowdowns, make it better.

The important part is that we got feedback; people told us where the thing was weak, where it did not meet expectations, or where it could be improved. No matter how hard it is to hear it, getting that feedback and how feedback works in social media is very important. You have to listen, without listening your customers will go elsewhere. If you listen, you build a stronger product, and with people telling you what they want, what they think, which allows you to go back and fix things.

Feedback is just that, a person looks at something and offers their opinion, while it is up to you do to something with it, you can take negative feedback and turn it into a positive experience. I can go back and send the book off to an editor, and come out with a stronger product. My friends can fix the issues with their system and come out with a truly killer product.

The pity party, the desire to pull back, then the indignation well those are all there, you need to stop with the negative outcomes and turn them into something you can truly use. This is both to make the product better, and to show that you are listening to the people who said things to you.

So the book goes off to an editor, my friends work on their UI and back end system dependencies. What started as a Pity Party ended up being a way to recharge, regroup, and reevaluate the way that things work, or do not work in what we are doing.

In social media this is the most important thing to remember, not everyone will be happy with what you have, but when the criticism is honest, this is truly an opportunity to break out of the walls of your organization and commit to product improvement. You can weigh and judge what people are saying, but when you know it is right, and someone points those issues out, like when you rushed to market before doing due diligence, well then, take it for what it is worth, and fix the product.

People will tell you what they want, they will tell you what they think, all you have to do is listen to what is being said and if valuable, use the advice.

Tags: omg, product, ugly, baby, comments, social media, criticism, words