My framing crew lead told me my crown cuts were 'functional but ugly' on a job in Denver last fall, so I spent the winter practicing my compound miter technique on scrap until it clicked.

Honestly, I was just happy the joints held, but his comment about the visual line forced me to finally learn how to properly back-cut and cope my inside corners, so has anyone else had a specific piece of criticism that made you go back and master a basic skill?

3 comments

3 Comments

jesse_nguyen14d ago

That kind of blunt feedback really makes you lock in the fundamentals for good.

jordanl8214d ago

Wait, does blunt feedback really lock things in for good though? Sometimes it just makes people scared to try again. I've seen folks get torn down and then they avoid the whole skill forever. The real trick is feedback that's clear but also makes you feel like you can fix it.

ericb6614d ago

Yeah but that's the thing... blunt feedback can backfire hard. Tell a new cook their food tastes like garbage and they might just quit. But tell them the chicken is dry and show them how to check it? That sticks. The "lock in" happens when you understand the fix, not just feel the sting.