Sunday Nov 02, 2025

ABOUT US ADVERTISING CONTACT

MENU

Do CEOs encourage bad news?

Monday, 21 July 2014 00:01 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

CEOs, much like politicians, tend to get ‘surrounded’ by ‘yes-men’ who fear delivering bad news. Given the tendency to ‘shoot’ the messenger of bad news, constructive feedback/ground realities tend to get suppressed and decision making gets ‘politicised’.

Smart CEOs build a culture of encouraging open and objective feedback. They go for the ‘ball’ rather than the ‘player›! Assigning a relatively senior manager to play the role of a fulltime critique could be one way to achieve breakthrough. Of course this depends on the CEO’s ‘appetite’ to confront the brutal truth, however bitter it may taste! Bon appétit!