The Rules Of Reality Construction

Reality Construction Rule #1: Control the Context 

Leaders often cannot control events, but they can control the context under which events are seen if they recognize a framing opportunity. 

Some leaders disparage communication as something they just do automati- cally. They may also label communication “mere rhetoric,” “window dressing,” or “just words” because it cannot change the hard cold facts of a situation. True as that observation may be, however, it falls far short of being complete. 

Consider the situation Robert E. Murray—chairman of the Murray Energy Corporation and co-owner of the Crandall Canyon mine in Utah— faced on August 6, 2007, when the mine caved in with six miners trapped