“The truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.”
You probably know this phrase already thanks to legal shows and courtroom dramas. But at Oneicity, it’s not just a phrase.
“The whole truth” is something that we believe is important and vital. . . even when the truth is bad news or uncomfortable. Even more so when that bad news is related to negative results.
Why?
Because without truth, you can’t have trust.
And without trust, you can’t have relationships.
And like we always say, “It’s all about relationships.”
Bad News Early and First
Early in our working years, a few members of our team got some version of this advice from a director or colleague: “If you have bad news to share, you need to give it early and first.”
And it’s 100% true.
As an agency, of course we strive to do the best we can. As someone in the nonprofit world (whether a fundraiser, board member, leader, or any role), you do the same. You want to show that you’re doing good work. No one likes to say that a strategy didn’t resonate with donors or that a campaign didn’t perform like we thought it would.
But bad things happen.
Things don’t go as planned. Strategies don’t play out as planned or predicted. There are things outside of your control. No matter how good your work or intentions are, there will be a time that something occurs and you have bad news.
It stinks.
But the best way to manage bad news?
The truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. Early and head on. Don’t avoid or delay it. That almost never helps the situation, and can even make things worse.
For example, if you have a toothache, you know that the best and easiest way to treat it is by going to the dentist right away. Delaying that visit will only lead to more pain and a more complicated treatment plan.
You Deserve the Whole Truth
We believe that our clients deserve the whole truth. Even when it’s not fun. By being candid and transparent, clients can build confidence in us. They know that they can trust us to tell them the whole story, not just the story that makes us look good.
If there’s something in the data that we have concerns about, we tell them.
If there’s a problem in one of the fundraising channels we’re responsible for, we tell them.
It’s not the easy thing to do, but it’s the right thing to do.
Trust comes from knowing that even difficult things will be talked about.
Have you ever been in a situation where you struggled to deliver bad news? Or, have you been on the other side of the table, where you’re receiving reporting and think there is bad news that you’re not being told about?
Send us any questions or share your experience with it to: howdy@oneicity.com
Photo by Chris Liverani on Unsplash
