It’s easier to say, “You’re sloppy” than to say, “You’ve been working nights and weekends, and it’s starting to take a toll on your ability to catch mistakes in your logic.” But it’s also far less helpful. Saying “your work is shit” is way better than saying “you are shit,” but it’s still totally obnoxious. What Jobs says next is key, though: for criticism to be effective, it’s crucial “to do it very clearly and to articulate why . . . and to get them back on track.” \[My italics.] In other words, “your work is shit,” even stated less aggressively, is not enough. **The boss needs to explain why; that is, be invested in helping the person improve.** Toward the end of the interview, Jobs offers some explanation of why he chose the words he did. JOBS: You need to do that **in a way that does not call into question your confidence in their abilities but leaves not too much room for interpretation** . . . and that’s a hard thing to do. \[My italics.] “Your work is shit” certainly doesn’t leave any room for interpretation, but I expect for most people it might also call into question confidence in their ability. --- **Tags** — [[quotes]] , [[feedback]], [[management]], [[culture]], [[crucial-conversations]] , [[challenging-others]] **Source** — [[202303281533 - B - Radical Candor]]