Are You Ready For The Truth? Can You Handle It?

Over the past few months, we've been developing a feedback system that allows individuals to get quick, constructive, life feeedback from people they know. We believe that just as business enterprises do market research to better pursue their visions, so to should "human enterprises" (individuals) get feedback from stakeholders in their life. If you're interested in testing it, visit http://successmanifesto.com/feedback/.

Amazingly (to me), this system has been somewhat controversial to people we share it with. Below are some of the critiques I've heard followed by my rebuttals:

1. Getting feedack from people is fake. What is fake about getting another perspective? I personally want to know how people view me as a friend. Do they trust me? Do they consider me a close friend? How do they experience themselves around me? Do people see strengths or weaknesses in me that I may not see myself? What patterns are there in other people's feedback? Of course, I'm all for learning more about myself through introspection, but I personally think that closing off external data is somewhat closed-minded.
   
2. I don't want to know the truth. I have trouble taking feedback. I don't care what other people think. In my opinion, this is the exact reason that you should get feedback. What part of you is being threatened by the feedback? By consciously and unconsciously communicating to others that you don't want or appreciate their feedback, I think you're not only hurting yourself, but your relationship with other people too. People seem to really enjoy giving feedback to others. However, when they feel like they can't, they inevitably communicate their feelings to others (talk behind your back) or they let feelings of frustration build up until they burst or leave the relationship. How would letting people around you know that you appreciate their feedback change your life?
   
3. People will use the information wrongly. This tool isn't for everybody. Also, it isn't meant to stand alone. It is meant to be used in combination with intense introspection. I personally think a lot more damage is done by the grading and testing system. If somebody doesn't have a natural aptitude for getting high grades and they are labeled as "average" or "below average" growing up, is this constructive? Consider this in light of the fact that it is pretty well documented that people who acheive massive success in business and politics were not A students.
   
4. Other people's feedback is tainted by their own biases. Furthermore, feedback dampens my creativity. This goes into the art of getting feedback, which I think one learns as they practice getting feedback. I wrote a blog entry on this earlier, which has my thoughts.