Settle on your deepest convictions about your mission. Lincoln’s
goal was to save the Union. No matter how harsh the criticisms,
on this issue he refused to be swayed. That goal was nonnego-
tiable. Criticisms of strategy and personnel were welcome, but not
criticism of this central commitment.
Bill Waugh, owner of a restaurant chain, was asked to become
chairman of the Salvation Army. He chose as his theme “Keep the
main thing the main thing.” By that he meant, “Keep the purpose
of the organization clearly in mind and do not get diverted from it.”
A leader must seek the depths of conviction so that when the
fierce storms come, priorities and stance are clear. One way to fil-
ter criticism is to reject any that distracts from the organization’s
main purpose.
Billy Graham frequently would hear out a critic, then explain
his calling and his determination to fulfill that mission, inviting
the critic to help with what he was compelled to do.
Ignore most of it. Lincoln often chose to ignore criticism.
Knowing the almost irresistible temptation to dwell on negative
comments, he chose to limit his intake. “As a general rule,” he
said, “I abstain from reading the reports of attacks upon myself,
wishing not to be provoked by that to which I cannot properly
offer an answer.”
We can overcredit criticism, and we can turn a cold into a can-
cer. Some criticisms sting more than they damage, and every bee
sting is not a snake bite.
Fred Smith’s homey analogy: “Sometimes if a racehorse pays
too much attention to a horsefly, it makes the fly too important.
Some people’s only taste of success is the bite they take out of
someone whom they perceive is doing more than they are. Those
of us who have known Billy Graham for many years have admired
the way he has not let his critics divert him from the goal.”
It’s helpful to have a friend or two who can help you sort the
criticisms to ignore from the ones to be carefully considered.
Don’t respond reactively.Many times Lincoln would write a
heated letter of response to critics, but then he would hold it and
just leave it in his desk. For instance, during the 1864 election, a
