14 September 2011
Tall Tales
Have you ever heard a rumour about yourself and thought, 'And
was I there when that happened?' Sometimes I do the most
extraordinary things. In fact I've done so many awesome things that
I don't actually remember some of them. Now I know how Bear Grylls
feels….
In the last couple of months the company rumour mill seems to
have been on overdrive. A contractor who once drove past a site
heard that once upon a time before he was born somebody's brother
used to work on that site and he got a splinter that got infected
and his foot fell off. So naturally safety on site must be
awful.
Or did you hear about the company who Jackson's son works for
that makes men wear skirts when it gets too hot to wear long
pants…? (Applicants, please form a line over here)
Some stories venture so far into the outlandish that they would
make and interesting series for HBO.
What do you do if you're the unwilling lead in a tall tale? Take
heart. Somebody either finds you fascinating, or is extremely
jealous of you.
If it's your company suffering from a case of Chicken Little and
a falling sky you have a few options. Fight it, Ignore it or Prove
them wrong.
Fight It. While it might feel really good at the time. (Like
really really Awesome in fact) It rarely works out. You'll be
portrayed as defensive, arrogant or any other number of words that
the original story teller finds in the thesaurus.
Ignore it. If you're possessed with incredible patience and/ or
some ostrich blood, you might choose the ignore it option. Let them
dig a hole and wait until it blows over.
Prove them wrong. Now this is my personal favourite. While it
bears some similar characteristics to the fight, it's more about
getting on with what you do best. Spread word through your channels
of how things really work and push the positive rather than
responding to the negative. If done right it will have the effect
of a fire extinguisher on a candle.
Have you done anything spectacular that you weren't aware of?
We'd love to hear about it. Tell us more here.