At a broad level there are only three kinds of news in the organization.

1. Good news

2. Bad news

3. Irrelevant news

The way good news and bad news travel within the organization is typically different.

Good news has a way of growing through the layers and showing up as bigger than what it is originally.

Bad news has a way of shrinking through the layers and showing up as smaller than what it is originally.

In either case, reality is distorted.

When reality is distorted, you pay a price. In the first case (good news contributing to reality distortion), this price may be complacence. In the second case (bad news contributing to reality distortion) the price may be a rude shock.

Question to think about:

What practices can we put in place so that the reality distortion is kept to a minimum?