tell them – Carl Weber Consulting

There are people around us that make our lives better.

The friend who reaches out at the right moment.

The coach who notices something is off and offers an encouraging word.

The partner who makes your favorite meal when you arrive home after a long day.

The running friend who drops you off on the route and carries all your stuff and periodically shows up on the route to offer a “you’ve got this!”

The person who pauses and asks us again, “no really, how are you doing?”

The friend who calls and says “hey I miss you” let’s connect.

The one who reminds you that you are enough, you are special, and you matter.

They are around us.

They make our lives better.

They make a positive impact in our lives.

Sometimes in the midst of our own journey we forget to tell them the impact they have on us.

Sometimes we forget to tell them how important that small gesture was to us.

Sometimes we get so used to their actions that we forget to tell them that they matter.

So as you reflect on those that make such an impact, let’s tell them today.

Pause right now and picture their face and send a text, or make that call, or (even better) write a card or letter and tell them.

Tell them.

I got to connect with an old friend the other day.

We drove, we talked, we got coffee, and we talked some more.

We talked about new starts and changes.

We talked about career paths and work.

We talked about good times and bad.

Then we talked about organizations.

My friend watched an organization try to move forward.

The moving forward required some changes.

The changes would impact employees.

The organization forgot to Tell Them (the employees, the staff, the people that would be impacted), and their top talent began to leave.

After many people left, the organization learned a valuable lesson.

Tell Them.

Tell Them why the changes are happening.

Tell Them the larger plan.

Tell Them why these moves are so important.

There are so many excuses not to Tell Them.

“We were waiting until everything was perfect.”

“We were not sure how the news would be received.”

“We think it will upset our customer.”

The longer you wait to Tell Them, the more other stories build.

Stories that erode trust.

Stories that assume the worst.

Stories that will undo the progress you are trying to make.

There are always reasons and excuses not to communicate.

But there is a simple solution: Tell Them.

Even bad news is more widely accepted when you are straightforward, open, and transparent.

Instead of being afraid of what they will do with the information, we should be more afraid of what they will do without it.