Hey,  did you hear the latest about????

If you heard it, Ms. Jones did, too. She’s especially in tune to gossip and rumor because the foundations of her world are changing. “What else will change? How will my family be affected? How can I protect myself? Are they out to get me?” she asks. There’s a lot more to it than just The Recession. Media is changing, government is changing. Our mores and morals are shifting as Boomers retire and Millennials come of age. It makes us nervous even when we can’t quite put our finger on it.

All this conspires to make gossip as delicious as candy and rumor irresistible.

“Everybody’s frozen and fearful because they’re watching the news and they’re believing everything they see. Most decisions that are fear based are wrong decisions. Make a decision to be in control. No fireworks going off, just people being adults, being responsible,” says Dave Ramsey, who advises Americans to refuse to participate in this recession.

Are you bold enough to use this language, found in an email from an online service provider who recently increased their fees?

Let’s put the issue right on the table…
I recently received some strong responses from customers…
First, I want to assure you that I take our customers’ feedback very seriously…
The fact is…
To help offset costs…
So that we can provide the highest level of service, we’re now asking all customers to…
We value and appreciate your business, and we want to continue our relationship with you in a spirit of mutual support and benefit…

How do you respond to gossip and rumors? Ms. Jones hears it outside, your employees hear it inside. “There are a terrible lot of lies going about the world, and the worst of it is that half of them are true,” said Winston Churchill. True or false, do you face it front-on with candor or do you evade innuendos?