Great Minds – Average Minds – Small Minds

“I am an office mystery. I’m never seen but I’m everywhere. I’m always on the job and often forecast important events. I make an unmake morals, reputation and cooperation, but I’m seldom blamed for my mistakes. I have no responsibilities, and I am one of the most powerful molders of opinion. I add humor and anger to the office, and I pass with the speed of sound. I’m basic in human nature, and you must accept me. I grow right behind you. I am the office grapevine.” (Author Unknown) Careers and reputations are damaged every day by the grapevine. People are fired and lives are forever altered because of false rumors, innuendos, insinuations, and gossip from the grapevine. People who are biased, prejudiced, uncaring, jealous, impartial, and opinionated have a real tendency to taint the facts in their favor. I have no time for those types of people in my life. Most grapevine gossip is critical, judgmental, faultfinding, and negative in substance. These are all things I can do without in my life. Erma Bombeck once suggested that our national pastime in America is not baseball, it’s gossip. Gossip is just a way for people who have nothing better to do … to help them deal with the people who are doing something better. It is an enormous time waster that really doesn’t serve any good purpose at all. There is an excellent tenet to keep in mind about people who are always sharing gossip: People who gossip to you … will gossip about you. I heard it once said that … Rumors are carried by haters, spread by fools, and accepted by idiots. That sentence alone should forever change your opinion of those who gossip and be an excellent reason to never do it yourself. I am not a fan of people who gossip. I think people who gossip are   1. not as productive as people who don’t    2. are shallow-minded    3. definitely not management material. Here are a few simple rules to follow that I feel will help your career and your personal life when it comes to gossip. If you won’t say it to them … then don’t say it about them. When talking about someone, pretend they are standing beside you. Never “fan the flame” of gossip nor pass it on. Disengage from the conversation – fake a call, meeting or deadline. Eleanor Roosevelt said it best when she stated: Great minds discuss ideas. Average minds discuss events. Small minds discuss people.” Most negative gossiping people are trying to make themselves feel better about their inadequacies by trying to make you look bad. If you find someone is gossiping about you … just think to yourself that they are making “YOU” the center of “THEIR” world. WOW! You just got really important. If you must gossip, talk about a person’s virtues not their vices.