When Caring Looks Like Criticism: The Fine Line Between Feedback and Fury
TL;DR:
Sometimes, giving honest feedback hurts – not just the person receiving it, but the person delivering it. Especially when you care deeply about the brand, the mission or the work being done.
🥴 The Setup:
Let me say this upfront: I do not enjoy tearing people down. It’s not my style.
But today… I snapped.
It wasn’t about a person.
It was about a place I care deeply about and have a lot invested in.
They’ve recently started posting videos on LinkedIn.
And let me just say: They’re rough.
Bad lighting.
Distracting audio.
No tripod. No framing. No polish.
The edits? Seizure-inducing.
The quality isn’t just amateur; it’s a disservice to the brand.
The Breaking Point:
I saw another video today and I couldn’t take it anymore.
I messaged the page.
A woman I didn’t know responded – and asked to move the conversation to email.
I get it. Praise in public. Criticize in private.
So I did.
And… I let it rip.
Not as an attack. But as a wake-up call.
I told her: The low-quality content is hurting their credibility. The team needs coaching. Because right now, they’re being asked to do something they clearly are not capable of doing.
Then I sent her a video – shot by a grad student in Argentina.
Same day. Same platform.
Beautifully framed. Well lit. Clean transitions. Crystal-clear audio.
No budget. Just talent.
The “Perfect” Defense
Now, don’t get me wrong—
I’m not saying it has to be perfect.
Lord knows my own videos aren’t.
Go look at my early stuff – there’s a learning curve.
And I’ve got the track record to prove that starting messy is better than not starting at all.
But that’s not what this is.
This isn’t a scrappy 7th grader’s YouTube or TikTok account.
And honestly? Some of those creators have higher production value than what I saw today.
This is an established brand.
A top-ranked MBA program.
A school that’s supposed to represent tens of thousands of alumni, faculty and students.
The bar has to be higher.
Because when it’s not?
You don’t just hurt your reputation.
You hurt recruiting.
You hurt job placement.
You hurt donations.
No other established brand would ever release an unpolished, poorly edited video.
I Offered to Help:
I didn’t just critique.
I offered to find help that would coach, consult and elevate the team’s skills. Because this is fixable.
But the first step is acknowledging that the current output is doing more harm than good.
🤔 So Why Write About This?
Because it made me think:
Where’s the line between being helpful and being harsh?
Did I go too far? Could I have delivered the message more diplomatically?
💯
But maybe caring deeply about a brand means saying the hard thing.
Not out of ego.
Not to shame.
But because if we don’t call it out…
we become complicit.
Final Thought:
If you’re in charge of a brand, a platform, a public presence – respect the medium.
Your message won’t land if your delivery sabotages it.
Support your team.
Train them.
Don’t hand off major content tasks to people who haven’t been equipped.
Because in today’s digital world:
Your brand is only as credible as what you publish.
