You stink!

Ah, the sweet sounds of success. There's nothing like some slings and arrows to let you know you're doing something right.

So what's the point of today's offering? Namely that you should expect, nay welcome, messages of disapproval and rejection if you're interested in creating something new and wonderful.

But wait, you say. I want my creation to be excellent. I want everyone to love it. If people tell me it stinks, doesn't that mean I'm blowing it?

Not at all, I answer. People are, by and large, very happy for things to "stay the same." They like what they like 'cause that's what they're used to. Try to introduce them to something different and you raise the spectre of change. Changing their minds, changing their tastes – it's all scary change.

Now some people actually enjoy change but an equal number (okay, I don't know it's equal – maybe it's more or less – so sue me) decidedly don't.

What you DON'T want is to NOT hear complaints and grumbles. Because if nobody is complaining about what you're doing it probably means it's just so blah that nobody cares. And as OW accurately put it: "The only thing worse than being talked about is not being talked about."

Not infrequently people will have an initial resistance but, with time, realize the goodness of what's involved and end up liking what they vehemently rejected at first blush. A great example is the redefinition of BMW's design language by Chris Bangle. In 2002 he shocked the world with his redesigned 7 series and unleashed a firestorm of criticism. And in 2003 there came the Z4, a car even more polarizing with its angular shapes and "flame surfacing." Mark Newson described it as "having been designed with a machete." Whew, that's gotta hurt!

Or not. I suspect Bangle was expecting the comments. His stuff was inarguably different and the question was "different good or different bad?" I can guess BMW's opinion. The redesigned 7 was their best selling 7 ever and they made record profits from Bangle's designs over the entire line. The rest of the car world took notice as well. Regardless of what their cheif designers might have said, within a couple of years BMW design cues were popping up on Lexus models, VW's, you name it. And with time, the haters (at least some) turned to love. Jeremy Clarkson, the opinionated journalist best known from the UK's Top Gear, admitted that whereas his first opinion was that the Z4 was complete rubbish, he'd had a change of heart and ultimately saw it as the most dynamic and evocative of all the current competing sports cars.

You'll note that controversy like this doesn't happen with, say, the redesigned Toyota Corolla. It's a fine appliance car and does the job. Nobody is going to hate it and nobody is going to rave about it. It's … okay.

But you're striving for great, not "okay." So look for and welcome it when you start hearing "your stuff stinks." It's the way you'll know you're being noticed. And that's a good thing.

- And that's today's word from the bird