I remember the President of a small division of J&J once loudly demanding that the rumor mill stop. He even posted a notice to that effect on a company bulletin board and then came in and told me I was responsible for making it (his wishes) happen. I just looked at him like he was crazy and then explained quietly to him why his precipitous action was more likely to doom him than the rumor mill. He was ticked to say the least. He lasted another 6-months. Unfortunately, I lacked the skills to help him develop as a leader. I do know that rumor mongering is natural, a lot of fun for those who like to play, and satisfying when the speculation has some truth. The internet is like a watercooler on steroids (or maybe a watercooler with steroids).

 

That being said.

 

When someone speculates about the future of the industry, a company or a person... without solid facts, or even with them, the comments say a great deal...about the person writing it. Possibly why so many anonymous blogs were floating this last week. Some just wanted to be first to to "press" regardless of the consequences to people involved (and here I'm referring to the folks who may have been personally impacted- not the company's leadership). Others let their personal attitudes about life in general show through. I know I do when I speculate about someone elses future. It is one reason why I tend to do it offline- especially if its negative. (I think it was it was Spiro Agnew who said "Nattering Nabobs of Negativism" which either makes me old or a history major.)

 

I've been observing that the bad side of blogs is that the collective voice tends to shout all out of proportion to the issue. Typical media reaction. The good news-at least in the staffing space is that a bunch of folks shouting in small closet can't even be heard in the next room. With a half-million or so recruiters and millions of hiring managers out there, no single or collective voice is heard very loudly- at least not yet.

 

Several folks received a "press release" of sorts from Jason Goldberg today which I'm sure will get wide distribution. It was open and measured. He may have a lot of challenges ahead but he is demonstrating an appropriate approach to rumors- without ignoring them he's responding as decisions are made. Good job. Good luck.