MERITORIOUS

We had the privilege to take a break and hear from an editor of a highly prestigious journal. Like us they get a large volume of feedback from many experts with many perspectives and it was interesting to hear how they deal with so many different perspectives. It was great to hear the recognition that bias is so prevalent but there are still useful messages to be obtained, it just takes figuring out how to do it in a balanced way. One of the concepts that stood out for me was how to manage a biased peer review, and the approach to determine which of the specific feedback is MERITORIOUS instead of simply disregarding the review was an excellent approach.

MERITORIOUS in this way means “likely to succeed on the merits of the case”. Another definition is “deserving reward or praise” which is a form of succeeding. I don’t want to give or receive false praise, but I do want to give and receive recognition when something is MERITORIOUS. If not deserved based on the merits, than it is not deserved.

How does this help us IMPROVE? What is a simple example to join the FLOCK of examples? How can we take a moment of FRUSTRATION and turn it into INSPIRATION?  When you see an article (or argument or plan) that doesn’t quite tell you what you need, look for what is MERITORIOUS about it and change your focal point.