Loading ...Why You Should Be Proactive with Bad News
I’ve got some good news, and some bad news. The good news is that reporters don’t know the bad news yet. Let’s look at what you should be doing right now.
You Did WHAT?
We all hate bad news. Whether it’s lower quarterly earnings or bad marks on a report card; it is information that will become common knowledge sooner rather than later. Our instinct is to put off communicating the bad news because, well, it’s bad. Why stick a pick in your own eye, right?
Negative news can become seriously negative news when it appears that you’re trying to bury it. Release the information after the closing bell on Friday, and no one will pick it up, right? Maybe. Then maybe someone will blog about it over the weekend, create a buzz on Twitter. The next thing you know, the story is out of control, out of context, and, worse, out of your hands.
The Ancient Chinese Secret of PR
Sun Tzu said, “Invulnerability rests with self; vulnerability with the enemy.”
The Skillful Warrior takes his stand on invulnerable ground; he lets slip no chance of defeating the enemy.
I quote from the Chinese Master because you, as the business communicator, have the invulnerable ground when releasing information in a proactive manner. You can mold the context, drive the discussion, and affect the message in its near-final form. When you choose to engage the enemy (the public, press, stockholders, your dad), you are building the framework for discussing the bad news.
Would you rather discover bad news from the source or read about it somewhere else?
Why You Should Be Proactive with Bad News http://bit.ly/5B0R1
This comment was originally posted on Twitter