We’re used to giving “praise sandwiches”—a criticism wedged in between two generic compliments—that give our brains indigestion.
A few years ago, I was working hard on a scrappy document that would eventually blossom into my first-ever book. It was still very early in the project, and I was hungry for guidance. So I was delighted that a colleague, who I’ll call Matt, had agreed to review my efforts and offer some constructive feedback. When he did, it went something like this:
