Sidebar: What to Leave Out

Computerworld - Even when higher-ups expect detailed reports, some items shouldn't make the final cut. Here are a few:

• Problems without solutions
  "If there are issues, you want to know options. 'This has happened, this is the risk,' and then they give options," says Vickie Owens-Rinn, a technical manager at Lucent Technologies Inc. in Murray Hill, N.J.


• Surprises
  Your bosses should never learn from a report that a project is tanking. "Warn them ahead of time," Owens-Rinn says.


• Finger-pointing
  Deliver bad news without blaming others, says Andrew Galbus, an IT manager at a large Minnesota health care institution. If your team doesn't have the skills needed to complete a task, for example, say, "We need to get some outside expertise."


• Lies
  You can be diplomatic in your wording, but never lie.

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