Premature Articulation
There it is again, the business version of driving your car into a tree. A small business owner announced a “major development” that now has been shelved. He broadcast the “news” repeatedly, in fact, to anyone and everyone; so caught up in the excitement that he never considered whether it might be best to get further along before blurting out the details. He spent months talking it up – and now it’s just “oops, never mind.”
Enthusiasm – even outright zeal – is important in small business, but it’s not as important as credibility. It’s devastating to have to “un-announce” something or just slink around hoping no one will say “hey, what’s happening with that ___ you said you were launching in a month?”
Fight the urge to generate excitement by revealing too much, too soon. It’s so much sweeter – and safer – to announce a new product, partnership, service, whatever, once it’s a done deal.
There’s a Chinese proverb to keep in mind when find yourself aching to share a juicy bit of news about your future business plans: “Think twice - then say nothing.”
Recent Comments