e to deliver on the promises that we made externally. Communication, Not Information That does not mean a company's top PR counselor should try to be- come an internal press baron. Employee information is not the same Work Inside Out Toward Your Customers as employee communications. Information flows off presses and out of personal computers. Real communication flows two ways. Paradoxi- cally, the best way for the CEO to engage employees initially is not to give a rousing speech, but to listen. When the CEO has established his bona fides as someone who "gets it," he can begin to articulate a common purpose that builds on the company's strengths and heri- tage. Rushing this part of a CEO transition leaves hidden voids that will crack under pressure. We looked for ways to get Armstrong in front of the people on the front lines from his first day on the job. He usually went to these sessions alone, without an entourage and with no prepared remarks. He began by introducing himself, summarized what he heard at his last stop and then he essentially asked "what would you do if you were me?" Of course, as time went on, he couldn't resist moving from "receive" mode to "transmit." He's a powerful speaker, brimming with confidence and he inspires it in others. He also wrote a column for the employee newspaper, issued e-mails called "As I See It" on timely issues he knew were making their way through the rumor mill, and carved blocks of time out of his calendar SO he could simply "show up" in locations outside New Jersey. Armstrong understood that some managers might skip his memos or be distracted at his meetings, but they would watch every move he made. So even during the ninety-day forced march through our business reviews, he forced himself to get out of the office and spend time with customers and employees. We leveraged this informal communica- tions network by arranging for Armstrong to send brief, often hand- written, "thank you" notes to people at all levels of the company for landing a major account, solving a cust