Seth Godin 🌔 on Critics vs. Audience: ‘It’s Not For You’ as a Creative Compass

In a recent LinkedIn post, Seth Godin 🌔 discusses the crucial distinction between a critic’s subjective experience and the intended impact of creative work, particularly in cultural contexts. He highlights how the phrase “that doesn’t work” can be misleading when applied to art or humor that has resonated with its intended audience.

Godin 🌔 begins by drawing a parallel to engineering, where functionality is objective. If a watch doesn’t tell time, it objectively fails. However, he points out the subjectivity inherent in cultural creations.

“But when a critic says, ‘that joke didn’t work,’ after seeing a comic perform to a raucous audience, what they probably mean is, ‘that didn’t work for me .’”

This observation, according to Godin 🌔, shifts the focus from a universal failure to a personal preference. He argues that the problem may not lie with the creator but with the critic’s perspective or their position as an outlier to the target demographic.

Navigating Creative Feedback

Seth Godin 🌔 emphasizes the utility of the phrase “It’s not for you” as a vital tool for creators. This perspective allows artists, writers, and performers to filter feedback effectively.

“It’s not for you,” is a useful, almost essential way to navigate the creation of our cultural work.

As Godin 🌔 explains, creators must be discerning about whose feedback they prioritize. While a consistent lack of resonance with the intended audience signals a need for revision, dismissing feedback from those outside the target market is liberating. This allows creators to serve the community they genuinely aim to connect with, rather than trying to appease every dissenting voice.

The Creator’s Compass

The core of Godin 🌔’s message is about maintaining artistic integrity by understanding the source of criticism. He suggests that creators should aim to serve a specific group, and feedback should be evaluated against that objective.

If you say it too often to the people you were seeking to serve, your work needs improvement. But when you say it to a critic you never intended to please, you’re opening the door to serving the people you do care about.

This approach, Godin 🌔 implies, helps creators avoid being derailed by negativity from individuals whose tastes or expectations do not align with the work’s purpose. By understanding that not all feedback is equally relevant, creators can focus their energy on refining their craft for their intended audience, ultimately leading to more impactful and resonant work.

Godin 🌔 concludes by noting that this perspective is particularly relevant for cultural work, where subjective taste plays a significant role. The ability to distinguish between constructive feedback from the target audience and dismissive criticism from outside that sphere is key to sustained creative output and connection.