Six Tips for Breaking Bad News

If The Godfather taught us anything about business, it was this: It's personal. So when the news is bad—and for risk-chasing entrepreneurs, at some point it will be—a good communication strategy will save you the drama of becoming the enemy.

Take it from Dr. Robert Buckman, a medical oncologist and professor at the University of Toronto who's been breaking bad news professionally for decades. "Do it poorly," he says, "and people will never forgive you. Do it well, and they'll never forget you."

Buckman developed a protocol called SPIKES to teach physicians and businesspeople a better way to communicate bad news.