Rejection is one of the greatest obstacles getting in the way of your success. Have you ever been so passionate about an idea that you knew it would have to be actioned on? Then you receive feedback that it just doesn’t seem right. It’s out of place. It’s not quite the expected version.
Feedback can come in two ways: external and internal. Internally, you give yourself feedback before the idea even launches. Externally you take in the feedback from public opinion. How you handle feedback will determine your ability to handle rejection.
In my line of work I am responsible for business and creative decisions. For business, the decision is pretty clear-cut. For creative, the final decision can be derived from a number of iterations, based on continuous feedback – after all, everyone knows their choice of blue or red or yellow is the correct one.
Creative decisions should almost always be made in a silo to avoid the ‘too many cooks in the kitchen’ expression. Jony Ive at Apple runs a top-secret design department for a reason – the iPhone would never be an iPhone if he allowed everyone on campus to contribute to ideas and give feedback.
Successful people will take rejection, learn from it and grow.
Mediocre people will take rejection and stop trying.
Unsuccessful people will take rejection and blame everyone as if it were their fault.
Which category do you fall under?