Taking Bad News

As a financial consultant, I am usually taken on by people who have managed to get themselves into a mess, for a variety of reasons. Obviously their objective is for me to sort out the mess so that they can get on with their work and often their life.
So far so good.... At least they, or one of their friends, have identified that they need help.
The problem, which is common to all of the ways that they may have got into that mess, is that to sort it out they have to admit that a bad decision was taken. In fact, the need for my services usually arises because they have failed to face up to this in the past.
It is human nature not to want to face up to our mistakes. But that is the road to ruin for an enterprise. So my assignments tend to terminate when difficult decisions are not taken because management are not prepared to admit their errors.
If the denied mistake is a game-changer, my assignment will be over very quickly. In others, we have managed to sort out many problems before reaching the uncrossable bridge. But what I find completely unacceptable is to be told by management, once presented with the least prejudicial solution, that the problem will be swept under the carpet. It is always better to take a decision, even a wrong decision, than not to take a decision at all. One can only question the integrity of such managers; technical competence is already ruled out.
Thankfully there is no shortage of potential clients. Making mistakes is a key part of business risk taking. I expect to be busy for quite some time.