The truth may hurt but lets not hide it
So with a new MD now in place, airlifted in for his straight talking approach; the true scale of the Crossrail delay is now apparent. Two-years behind schedule and a £2bn funding gap. This isn't the news any of us want to hear but you know what it's the truth so for that we should at least applaud them.
The truth, realism or in corporate towers up and down the land 'bad news' is often buried or hidden from sight. 'The ministers/management don't want to hear it’, ‘let's focus on the positives’ are normal everyday conversations in the workplace of today.
People who tell the truth often end up marginalised or being deemed as non-team players due to their perceived ‘negativity’. But, there must be a place for truth in the modern workplace and in life in general. Yes, it may well lead to tricky conversations but at least you're tackling the real problem at heart. At least you have a chance to find a solution to the right problem and at least you have a chance at managing it before the problem becomes too big and unmanageable.
Crossrail isn't the first major programme to face long delays and cost overruns and it certainly won't be the last. But looking back over many of the corporate and project headlines of late there does seem to be a trend for people ignoring the glaringly obvious truth. From Carillion's dubious accounting practices where anyone who pointed it out was marginalised to the new Spur’s stadium project that most in the industry said couldn't be built within that timeframe and subsequently couldn't, there must be a place for the truth.
So, even though the truth may well hurt; at least you've addressed the actual challenges at hand and have a fighting chance of success in the future.