James Drogan

From Bob Sutton comes "Truth Takes Work."

''Truth takes work. If you are going to tell the truth, then you have to spend some time to get the facts right. I’ve worked with some very smart bosses who have bought into what I think is a leadership myth – that great leaders are always focused on the “big picture” future and don’t allow themselves to get sucked into day to day issues. You can’t tell the truth during “bad times” unless you are close to the ground and have shifted much of your focus to the here and now.'

The above quote comes from a CEO I know, and is striking to me. I've been talking to a number of executives lately about how much "transparency" is necessary to communicate to people during tough times like these and the best ways to do it. This CEO's comment as is a reminder that, just because someone is a senior executive, does not mean that he or she knows what is happening in the company. Some are so externally focused and so enamored with giving big speeches, meeting important people like themselves, doing giant deals without getting in the weeds, and serving on boards, that they really have no idea what is happening in their own companies. Times like these reveal these posers.'

Be sure you go to Bob's post and read the appended comments.