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If The Godfather taught us anything about business, it was this: It’s personal. So when the news is bad—and for risk-chasing entrepreneurs, at some point it will be—a good communication strategy will save you the drama of becoming the enemy.
Take it from Dr. Robert Buckman, a medical oncologist and professor at the University of Toronto who’s been breaking bad news professionally for decades. “Do it poorly,” he says, “and people will never forgive you. Do it well, and they’ll never forget you.”
Buckman developed a protocol called SPIKES to teach physicians, along with businesspeople from the likes of IBM, Pepsi
and PwC, a better way to communicate bad news. Study up so no one gets (too) hurt.

Setting: Have the exchange in person. Sit less than four feet away, keep your eyes on the same level and show interest by leaning forward. If it has to be done by phone or video, acknowledge that the medium is lame. Avoid text or e-mail unless you’re trying to be a bosshole.

Perception: Find out what people already know or suspect; this will help in easing them into the situation. If you are about to lay someone off, it might be a good idea to ask, “How do you think things are going?”

Invitation: Prepare them for what’s coming. Say you’d like to talk about the situation so they know you’re about to talk about “something big.”

Knowledge: Your delivery should be straightforward and chronological. (“The economy is bad and the budget is down, so we have to cut staff.”) Never use such kind of jargon.

Empathy: Acknowledge the person’s emotions appropriately. Be attentive and supportive, but don’t say “I know how you feel,” because you don’t. Buckman suggests something more: “This is a terrible shock to you” or even “This feels awful to both of us.”

Summary: It is important that you don’t end the conversation until you have managed to address all their emotions and talked about the next steps that they can take.

©Entrepreneur July 2011 by Entrepreneur Media, Inc.
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Guy Kawasaki’s three tips for cursing effectively

For entrepreneurs, dropping a swear word here and there can prove surprisingly beneficial. Cursing can—at times—prove positive for entrepreneurs, says Guy Kawasaki, author and founder of Garage Technology Ventures, a Palo-Alto-based VC firm. In his view, cursing can engender camaraderie and trust. Of course, entrepreneurs shouldn’t wander around dropping F-bombs. Instead, here are the tips:
1. Never attempt to cuss in front of a hostile audience. “Your audience has to be at least neutral, but even better, positively feeling towards you already,” says Kawasaki. “If you take a hostile audience, swearing is not going to make them happy, but if your audience that loves you already, dropping a few swear words is OK.”
2. Curse only infrequently. “You shouldn’t be known as a profane person,” says Kawasaki. If you’re going to curse in a speech, for instance, do so just once.”
3. Reserve cursing for the perfect situation. For instance, when something happens that is “head smackingly stupid” and your audience also realizes it, then use the swear word, says Kawasaki.

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bad, buckman, economy, Guy Kawasaki, information, situation