4 ms·

Good executives do do this, Ben Horowitz addresses it explicitly in The Hard Thing About Hard Things, but I've also seen it personally from good executives I've

Good executives do do this, Ben Horowitz addresses it explicitly in The Hard Thing About Hard Things, but I've also seen it personally from good executives I've worked for. It's bad ones that think they can spin something negative into something positive. All it does is break trust and employees just think they're full of shit. The urge to spin things positively is the common default though for new execs for some reason, telling the truth about bad news when it's hard to do so is part of what makes someone good.

lazide 5y ago
It’s the default ‘easy’ answer - telling a bunch of people something that sucks is risky and scary and many times they don’t even know how to process it themselves, or that they will be ok if they do.
- gonehome 5y ago
  Yeah - I suspect they may be lying to themselves first. It’s also possible they rationalize it in some way that they’re “protecting their employees” from the bad news. In practice people like to be clued in to the truth and are more likely to respond positively to honesty in my experience.
  - lazide 5y ago
    100% agree. I also think we're (maybe?) starting to come out of a period where selling bald faced lies and bullshit was a major way to 'make it rich'. Or at least I hope. There was a period where it was a requirement for an executive that they be credible and have a solid track record of under promising, over delivering, before they would ever be considered for leadership. Part of that comes with the experience to know (as in know in their bones, from direct experience) how important it is to be straightforward while not causing panic, and to set a solid and realistic direction instead of lying about it. People required that of their leaders because they had seen and felt the anguish and loss that doing otherwise causes when it is something important. We've had a insane run of peace and prosperity, and it's easy to forget that and take the fluffy fun face instead.

lazide 5y ago

It’s the default ‘easy’ answer - telling a bunch of people something that sucks is risky and scary and many times they don’t even know how to process it themselves, or that they will be ok if they do.

gonehome 5y ago
Yeah - I suspect they may be lying to themselves first. It’s also possible they rationalize it in some way that they’re “protecting their employees” from the bad news. In practice people like to be clued in to the truth and are more likely to respond positively to honesty in my experience.
- lazide 5y ago
  100% agree. I also think we're (maybe?) starting to come out of a period where selling bald faced lies and bullshit was a major way to 'make it rich'. Or at least I hope. There was a period where it was a requirement for an executive that they be credible and have a solid track record of under promising, over delivering, before they would ever be considered for leadership. Part of that comes with the experience to know (as in know in their bones, from direct experience) how important it is to be straightforward while not causing panic, and to set a solid and realistic direction instead of lying about it. People required that of their leaders because they had seen and felt the anguish and loss that doing otherwise causes when it is something important. We've had a insane run of peace and prosperity, and it's easy to forget that and take the fluffy fun face instead.