Bad News

They were right.  Unlike wine, it does not get better with age.  One of my recent frustrations with industry leaders and colleagues (internally and externally) is the seeming inability to share or receive bad news.  It seems like everyone has gotten trigger shy and is fearful for their jobs if they so much as mumble one piece of less than stellar news.

Some of the most successful companies embrace failure as a means to innovation.  Only by failing do they really succeed on the grandest level and reach the next evolution of their product.  While I think that’s a bit extreme to employ in corporate America, I do think we could all take a partial lesson and start to de-criminalize bad news.

Personally, I expect bad news.  It’s a fact of life.  It all goes back to that quote I posted a while back about the pessimist, the optimist, and the realist.  Maybe that’s why I wrote this post – my overwhelming sense of realism.  I understand that most things in life have some flaw and nothing is usually ever as good as advertised.  It’s how we accept the shortcomings, inconsistencies, or bad news that really makes us stronger and separates us from the pack.

So I can’t implore you enough – stop shying away from bad news.  Shedding light on it is the only way to move forward.  And, the biggest rewards go to the people who figure out how to fix the bad news.  Keep that in mind too.

In a future post, I’ll provide my solution to managing bad news and fostering leadership alignment and awareness even in times of unfortunate news.  Until then, what are your thoughts or tactics to peel back the curtain on bad news?

Til Next Time,

Michael