If people only tell you good news, check whether you’ve made bad news expensive.

A filtered picture is not a good sign, it is a symptom. If nothing difficult reaches you, somewhere along the line people learned that bringing problems is unpleasant, and that lesson was probably taught by a reaction you do not remember giving. The result is that you find out late, when things are large. Good news is not evidence that things are good.

Think about what happened the last two times somebody brought you something bad. If you got tense, say so and say you want the early version anyway. Then thank the next person who brings you a problem, out loud, before you deal with the problem.