The reflex
A commitment becomes uncertain. You wait to know more before you warn anyone.
The builder’s reflex
Warn as soon as the information can help someone act. Say what is certain and what is not.
Why
Bad news is worth a lot early and almost nothing late. Delivery of stock promised to a client becomes uncertain. Warned a week before, the salesperson finds a solution. Warned the day before, all they have left is apologies.
Good news can wait for the meeting. Bad news cannot. The urgency comes from what others can still do.
You do not need a solution to warn people. Say the fact, the possible effect, what is still uncertain, and when you will come back. Waiting until you have the solution often means warning too late.
If you run a team, your reaction to the first piece of bad news decides whether you get the next one in time. Acknowledge it the same day, and say who takes what follows.
Try this
On a current commitment, write down today what could make it slip, and who needs to know. When it happens, pass on:
“Here is the fact or the risk. Here is what it can change. This part is still uncertain. I need this decision, and I’ll come back at this point.”
Send it the same day.
To discuss
Which piece of bad news waited here because nobody knew who to tell?