Issue 75: News, good and bad
How fast does your news travel?
One of my earliest lessons as a sales leader was “Send good news up the stairs but bad news up the elevator”.
What does that mean?
Anyone who has been in a sales job knows how this rolls. We clinch a deal, win a large account, crack a contract, succeed with a bid and we immediately dash off a message to our bosses and their bosses and their bosses. WhatsApps, emails, SMSes. Whatever it takes.
What do we do when we run into an issue? With closing a deal or executing a project? With trouble in paradise?
Option 1: We decide to take matters into our hands and solve it ourselves, no matter how complex the problem and how low we are in the value chain.
Option 2: We take the matter and shove it deep down our throat, giving it a weighty burp, hoping the issue dissolves and disappears in due course.
Unfortunately, both options stem, not from optimism, but from delusion about a deus ex machina outcome, either through extreme action or pointed inaction.
Next time you sense bad news coming your way, consider doing some or all of the following things:
Assess the materiality of the situation - This could be in terms of revenue, reputation, or simply too much noise.
Inform your immediate manager about the situation, the steps you are taking, and the probability of success / resolution.
Ask them if they are ok with your continuing to take the lead on the sale / solution. If yes, go ahead with the next step. Else, consider this an escalation and defer to them on next steps.
Take accountability for the resolution because you have taken the onus upon yourself. In other words, don’t delegate further down mindlessly; even if you do, keep it tight.
Go back to step 1 and follow all the steps again in order, with a renewed focus on reputation and noise factor, and also any changes in revenue impact.
Of course, we all implicitly decide on how fast to send bad news up our respective chains basis the culture of receptiveness in our companies. And not all people and places behave the ideal way.
Yet, even in a scenario that isn’t optimal, it’s better to use that elevator to dispatch bad news than shove it into a ditch.
Because, bad news is like that skeleton in the closet. You don’t want it tumbling out without enough warning, do you?
P. S. Views strictly personal. None of the events mentioned in this post refer to the organisation that I am currently associated with.