Everyone knows that information is valuable, but how valuable it is and the long term effects are sometimes hard to gauge.
Recently as an example, we had a manager inform us that the owners of the building adjacent to ours wanted to buy our building. Valuable information for us to have. In turn the manager was asked to get the owners names for future reference; we have no intention of selling at the moment. The manager in the process of getting the name, took the owners on a tour of the building with other employees present. The net result was widespread panic that we were closing down the office and they would all be out of a job. This simple task of finding out a name and walk through of a building – sharing information – created fear and panic and cost us hours of productive time.
So as a caution, be aware of the information that you are passing along as a business owner, as well as how that information may be relayed to others. Usually it is best to keep information on a need to know basis unless you have an extended period of time to explain the ramifications of the information.
