The reason a person is critical of a thing is because he is passionate about that thing. In order to have a critical opinion, you have to love something enough to understand it, and then love it so much more that you want it to be better.

Alex Payne is fantastically on-point regarding feedback, criticism and passion.  I do this all the time, but always wonder a bit if I am being weird or inappropriate.

I ask blunt questions about people’s work, projects, companies.  Friends, and new people I meet.  Startups, naturally, lend much to be discussed in this fashion.

Similarly, I never understood why people were willing to accept mediocrity from friends.  They’d usually say something like “well, they are my friends! I can’t criticize it!”

If anything, being a friend means to sternly encourage awesomeness and accept nothing else.  Sometimes that means saying things people don’t like to hear but will hear from you.  You can be tactful with that too, of course.

(via fascinated)