The other day I wrote about the importance of facing hard truths, both when being honest with your clients about their business and in being receptive to feedback about your own.
I since discovered this quote by Henry David Thoreau and it felt relevant to the point.
For a truth to be heard, it must be spoken with kindness. Truth is kind only when it is spoken through your heart with sincerity. You should know that when a message you convey to another person is not understood by him, at least one of the following things is true: what you have said is not true, or you have conveyed it without kindness.
It’s a great reminder that all truths—all advisory work for that matter—should be delivered with kindness (and empathy) if we wish for our advice to land.
Especially when dealing with hard truths.