I’ve never been particularly charismatic, but I have a knack for leadership based on ideas – I have the ability to motivate people on the strength of my vision. One important lesson I’ve learned while doing this is that criticism is a positive thing.

Ideas, particularly radical ones, always attract critics. If they attract too many negative criticisms relative to the positive ones, you might wish to rethink the idea, or at least figure out why, but even ideas that have overwhelmingly positive criticisms are bound to get negative ones as well from time to time.

The key is never to take criticism as a bad thing. Use it as an opportunity to improve, and always thank the critic for bringing something you need to address to light. You’ll be surprised how quickly your critics warm to the idea when they see how willing you are to consider and address their concerns.

In the end, you’re both working towards ideals, after all.