What to do when your work is challenged

My book is on a tough topic, one that is controversial, one that really matters. Telling people about it, I get challenged almost as a matter of course. People question the validity of my experience, or they offer an alternate perspective. One person told me flat out that there are bigger issues in the world to worry about. The thing is, there will always be bigger issues. What matters is getting the work out there.

The last one, where the person challenged the importance of my work, that was a crucial question which provided me the opportunity to drill down on the true importance of the matter, which in turn helped me improve my dialog and the message. It also opened my market up.

What do you do when your important work is challenged? Do you give in? Or push back? Do you get angry or discouraged? None of these reactions are necessarily wrong, but if you slow down a bit, you might find real value in the opposition.

The smart track involves taking a day to think about the challenge. What is at its root, and how can you meet or beat the challenge? Can it help you improve? If so, challenge your challenger right back, or just be thankful someone is keeping you on your toes.

Kelly Hobkirk - teaching marketers how to harness strategy, goals, reality, and purpose to connect and do better work.

 

Kelly Hobkirk has been helping companies succeed in creative ways for nearly 25 years. His work has been featured in Time Magazine, and books by Rockport and Rotovision. Get exclusive articles when you sign up for his monthly newsletter.

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