Hamilton and Feedback

What Alexander Hamilton taught me about feedback

This week I went to see Hamilton with my family for the second time.  You know a show’s great when you experience post theatrical blues on the way home – a deep sadness that it’s finished and you’re missing it already.

In the show, there’s a line that is continually repeated, where Aaron Burr is giving advice to Alexander Hamilton, “Talk Less, Smile more. Don’t let them know what you’re against or what you’re for.”

Hamilton scorns the advice for its cowardice and lack of conviction.  And I agree. It doesn’t actively make you, others, or the world any better. 

We all hold perspectives that could make a difference if we shared them, but we don’t because we think it might offend.  But there is a way to share what we think without offending – by laying your thinking on the table for others to explore – without any intention to defend.  You may be right, you may be wrong, but that’s not the point.  You’re just interested in what others think.  And that’s an invitation for others to open up, to share perspectives and that’s when co-creation really begins.

Share your perspectives freely.  Lay your thinking on the table for all to see, with the knowledge you could be wrong.  See what happens.