The Truth About Managing People, Third Edition

Truth 35. Listen to the Grapevine

Some years back, the rumor mill was especially active at Coca-Cola’s Atlanta headquarters. The company was in the midst of a major reorganization that had included 5,200 layoffs worldwide earlier in the year. Rumors were saying that key executives were leaving, that there were ongoing turf wars among senior executives, and that more layoffs were pending. These rumors were beginning to seriously undermine morale at Coke. In an attempt to shut down the rumor mill, the company’s executive vice president tried to set things straight. He acknowledged that the company’s senior management hadn’t done a good enough job of telling employees about the changes that were taking place. He pledged “better and more frequent ...