Hiding doesn’t make monsters disappear
“The first responsibility of a leader is to define reality.” – Max DePree.
We excel at dodging uncomfortable truths. A startup founder ignores dwindling cash reserves. A CEO overlooks a toxic executive, destroying team morale. A sales leader dismisses clear signs of market shifts. These aren’t just oversights – survival threats masquerading as minor inconveniences.
The price of willful blindness
“It is better to be hurt by the truth than comforted with a lie.” – Khaled Hosseini.
Kodak saw digital photography coming but clung to film. Nokia witnessed the smartphone revolution but held onto basic phones. Both giants fell not from ignorance but from refusing to confront their brutal reality.
Turn towards, not away
“The cave you fear to enter holds the treasure you seek.” – Joseph Campbell.
The exercise is simple but uncomfortable: Gather your team. Ask each person to write down what everyone knows, but no one discusses. Share anonymously. The patterns that emerge often reveal the organization’s most critical challenges.
Research from Harvard Business School shows companies that regularly confront uncomfortable truths are 3x more likely to navigate major market shifts successfully.
Your greatest threat isn’t the brutal fact itself – it’s the energy wasted pretending it doesn’t exist. The market rewards those brave enough to look reality in the eye and act accordingly.
The next move belongs to you.
