When I write software, I ask for people's opinions. Then, I either listen to what they have to say or I don't.
Some people are very adamant about certain features, options, or use cases. Sometimes I listen, sometimes I ignore them entirely.
It's nothing personal. I have opinions about certain applications that should be ignored as well. Features, options, and experiences that are important to me aren't important to the overall process or the product's actual end user.
Am you entitled to have an opinion of my work? Yes. But I'm just as entitled to disqualify it for the following two reasons:
- Lack of Standing
- No Credibility
Want to know why I disqualify opinions in these two categories? Then read the latest post on Seth Godin's blog:
Is everyone entitled to their opinion?
Perhaps, but that doesn't mean we need to pay the slightest bit of attention.
There are two things that disqualify someone from being listened to:
1. Lack of Standing. If you are not a customer, a stakeholder or someone with significant leverage in spreading the word, we will ignore you. And we should.
When you walk up to an artist and tell her you don't like her painting style, you should probably be ignored. If you've never purchased expensive original art, don't own a gallery and don't write an influential column in ArtNews, then by all means, you must be ignored.
If you're working in Accounts Payable and you hate the company's new logo, the people who created it should and must ignore your opinion. It just doesn't matter to anyone but you.