Truth Is a Process 95
For managers, process does the heavy lifting. It gives victory to
one interpretation, defines it as ‘‘the truth’’ for an organization, and
makes a defining moment possible. What Adario had forgotten about
the Tylenol episode was all that preceded it. He was impressed by
what the company did; he should have been impressed that it was
ready to do what it did.
Burke’s actions, in the moment of crisis, were only the latest in
a long series of efforts to renew the company’s commitment to
its basic values. The company credo was decades old and closely
associated with the company’s revered, long-time chairman, General
Robert Johnson, who created it. The credo had been carefully crafted,
occasionally updated and clarified, and, above all,