One of the most important lessons I have learned about starting a company: No matter how bad the news, it is essential that you absorb that blow, deal with the immediate implications, and then do anything you can to generate some good news. The faster you can cut off that positive feedback loop, and shift the momentum of your company back in the right direction, the better chance you have of replacing that “lost value” with something of comparable or greater value.

It is your responsibility as a founder, to turn this corner faster than everyone else in your company, and let them draft off of your forward momentum. None of this is an argument for denial of the facts, and believe me, hindsight is 20/20….but I think this skill, of taking a punch, and getting back up fast, is one of the most important to develop in a founder’s tool kit. And there is no “faking it.” You can’t just throw a smile on top of negative energy and sell everyone on “the positives.” It is about actually addressing bad news, developing methods to accelerate your personal recovery time, and then quickly taking steps to right the ship.