Bad News, Bad News

"Nobody likes the man who brings bad news."
—Sophocles

"Grief" -- 24"x 24" Acrylic on panel. 

It''s a stubborn feature of human nature: we often confuse the message with the messenger. Bad news disrupts comfort, threatens hope, and forces reckoning, so our irritation or fear seeks an outlet. Rather than grapple with the reality being reported, we turn on the person who delivers it. This instinct appears in families, politics, workplaces, and even religion, where truth-tellers are labeled as negative, disloyal, or cruel simply for naming what others would rather avoid saying

Sophocles' quote also exposes a moral hazard. Societies and leaders that punish bearers of bad news slowly lose access to truth. This brings to mind an observation by Pixar's Ed Catmull in his book Creativity, Inc., "If there is more truth in the hallways than in meetings, you have a problem." In other words, when honesty carries social cost, people learn to soften, delay, or conceal reality. What begins as a desire for emotional comfort becomes a system of self-deception. Sophocles, who wrote Greek tragedies, understood that catastrophe often follows not from ignorance alone but from hostility toward warning.

Yet the quote also invites humility from the messenger. Bad news need not be delivered with relish or contempt. Courage, compassion and empathy must travel together. This is part of the problem with our toxic social media culture. There is seldom empathy, only outrage.

The challenge is to speak truth clearly without delighting in the pain it brings—and to hear truth without demanding pleasantness as a condition before accepting it.

Sophocles' observation applies on many fronts. It explains why whistleblowers are often shunned and why reformers are resisted. It's why leaders reward flattery over honesty and why families avoid difficult conversations. 

The truth stings, but it's better than the alternatives.  

Ralph Nader Discovers That Publishers Prefer Bad News and Dirt to Positive Uplifting Stories

You would think that once you had an established name, and a lengthy track record as a best-selling author, that it would be easy to get published. Ralph Nader seems to have discovered that it just ain't so.

Nader made a name for himself by castigating the auto industry in his 1965 bestseller Unsafe at Any Speed. Or to put it another way, this book set in motion a sea change in the auto industry with regard to auto safety. Nader lifted the veil on automakers' resistance to features like seat belts, and was an early advocate for addressing the pollution cars emit.

After revealing the deficiencies of the auto industry he next tackled that Federal Trade Commission (FTC) by assembling a team of volunteer law students (dubbed "Nader's Raiders") to unveil the mysteries and machinations of this government entity. In the 70s he turned to environmental activism, always ready for a fight.

After a lifetime of interactions with leaders in government, business and industry, Ralph Nader wanted to write yet one more book. This book, however, was different from the others. In this one he wanted to acknowledge some of the good leaders he has encountered, people worthy of being role models.

Strangely enough, the major publishers haven't wanted to touch it. They want Nader to write more finger-pointing books. "Your schtick is bashing executives, not praising them," they seem to be saying.  

The tentative title was "Twelve CEOs I Have Known and Admired."

I remember reading an article once about authors who write in various genres, how whatever genre they first succeed in may overshadow their ability to get published in other channels. J.K. Rowling is known for her Harry Potter books, but she also had other interests. Was this a factor in her choosing to write The Cuckoo's Calling under a pseudonym?

Though Nader has written 30 or more books, he's not had the best of luck finding a publisher for his manuscript praising execs. One publisher said, “I didn’t tell him what to write, I told him what I could sell." It reminded me a little of the message Jane Leavy conveyed in her book on Mickey Mantle, The Last Boy.

The Wall Street Journal has a paywall, so you may or may not be able to read the article that inspired this blog post, "Who Wants to Hear Ralph Nader Praising CEOs? Not Publishers."

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I can't help but think here about Dylan being booed for going electric after making a name for himself as folk singer/songwriter. The Beatles did a little better with their transitions, I think. Clues to where they were headed were woven into their preceding recordings, a form of foreshadowing. 

Trivia: One of the admired CEOs featured by Nader is Paul Hawken, who I heard give a talk here in Duluth about 25 years ago.