Bad News Does Not Get Better With Time
Robust communication makes the difference between opportunity and catastrophe
Ten or so years ago, a colleague researched partnering opportunities for my nonprofit and came across a fledgling event known as Tough Mudder. There were no opportunities to partner, but my colleague, knowing my interest in unique athletic events, passed along the mud run info. Amidst the descriptions of the various obstacles was a note about a group of people that ran the course with weighted rucks (backpacks). Having grown tired of traditional running events, I was intrigued. I began to research both Tough Mudder and a start-up rucksack company called GORUCK.
The prerequisite to join the ruck group at Tough Mudder was to undertake a 12-hour “Challenge” event led, at the time, by the company’s owner and a former Green Beret, Jason McCarthy. In the early classes, challenge activities were a complete mystery beyond the limited description of being based on team-building techniques utilized by special forces. It sounds trite, but the 12+ hours of grueling, sweaty, exhausting, wet, muddy, funny, and trying activity were life-changing. I had no idea that this one experience would set me on a completely different path. GORUCK inspired the pursuit of adventure, deep and abiding friendships, and a new perspective on my capacities. Class 024 also altered my understanding of what my organization could accomplish. Somewhere amongst the many lessons learned on that first night, Jason tossed out a truth that has stuck with me, “bad news does not get better with time.”
Over and over again, I have observed how a failure to act promptly in the face of bad news results in a more difficult situation and adds significant stress and anxiety for all parties. Hunter S. Thompson notes, “a man who procrastinates in his choosing will inevitably have his choice made for him by circumstances.” Letting circumstances determine your path is no way to run a business or relationships.
Whether terminating an employee, telling the Board about a fiscal shortfall, or addressing wrong-doing in the office, too many leaders hesitate. Waiting feeds the fantasy that it provides room for resolution, an opportunity to grasp the information thoroughly, and a means for lessening pain and discomfort. The truth is that waiting does not improve the bad news, extends the anxiety and distress, and delays the formulation and execution of a solution.
For instance, learning of the departure of a key employee may upset me, but the sooner a strategy is developed and executed, the quicker the organization can begin its recovery. Additionally, an immediate reaction minimizes the amount of time that the nonprofit is missing essential skill sets. Likewise, getting to the Board of Directors quickly with information about a fiscal shortfall allows management to control the narrative and opens up an opportunity for the Board to provide a solution. Waiting six months to let the BOD know the organization is in fiscal distress and that you will be laying off half the staff is an organizational disaster.
Every management team needs to embrace and formulate a bad news protocol. Tenets of this protocol should include:
1. Open and honest communication among team members. I try to foster open dialogue by continuously reminding people that our team discussions are like science experiments. We attempt to leave emotion at the door to question, analyze, debate, brainstorm, and deconstruct without becoming entangled in blame, incriminations, and other value judgments. This skill may take some time to manifest but once developed; it is a powerful tool for progress in the organization.
2. “Speed Kills” is James Carville’s famous line during the 1992 Presidential campaign. It is just as accurate now as it was then. Getting precise information as quickly as possible improves the odds of success and increases the amount of time you have to prepare for a storm of bad news. For this tenet to work, there must be an enunciated expectation from the CEO that management personnel share good and bad news as soon as possible. Second, the CEO must actively model this behavior so that the management team will follow her/his lead.
3. NASA’s Gene Kranz is famous for making use of the phrase, “work the problem.” Kranz’s management philosophy is summarized in a 2014 article in Fast Company entitled, “Problem-Solving Lessons from NASA.” He states, “when it comes to solving important problems, too often we go with our intuition, and that only makes things worse. Real competence involves doing things thoughtfully and mindfully, rather than by hope, intuition, or guesswork.” Kranz developed the following procedure (that is still in use today) to deal with the challenges of bad news.
“Leaders must ‘work the problem’ through proper and thorough procedures. Specifically, they should:
1. Define the problem
2. Determine goals/objectives
3. Generate an array of alternative solutions
4. Evaluate the possible consequences of each solution
5. Use this analysis to choose one or more courses of action
6. Plan the implementation
7. Implement with full commitment
8. Adapt as needed based on incoming data.”
Bad news is bad news. All people and organizations face it at some point. How you and your organization react to that news has a significant impact on success or failure. Robust processes for problem-solving, communication, and teamwork can change bad news from disaster to opportunity or prevent a catastrophic result. Through all of this, the immutable truth is that bad news does not get better with time.
