When Miles D. White became Chairman and CEO of Abbott Laboratories in 1999, he took charge of a company that historically did everything it could to be the quietest Fortune 500 corporation in the Midwest.

Speaking at the Page Society's annual regional networking dinner at the Chicago Yacht Club on August 20, White said his company operated under the belief that "only the whale that surfaces gets harpooned." As a result, there was little or no communication with employees or retirees, occasionally with analysts and rarely with the media. Under his tenure, that philosophy has undergone a significant change.

In order to change the culture of the company so that it could act with agility when necessary, especially in times of adversity, White said, they had to learn to communicate with their different constituencies. "We needed consistency in our messages," he said, "and we needed to put things in context so people would understand why we are doing what we do and how it affects them."

He recognized that those communications had to come from the top. "We needed to talk directly to employees and retirees," he said, "not only to build trust, but to make them advocates for the company. When people think they can communicate with the top of the organization, that changes the message."

Gaining the confidence of their people, he added, has given them credibility. "We were in a difficult environment," he said, "and I had a lot of things to explain. Communications made a difference."

White admitted that he runs hot and cold on the press, "mostly cold." But, he said, he realizes it's part of his job to interact with the media. "What you need to learn is who you can trust," he said, "and who you can't."

What you can't do, White said, is ignore the press. "You do more harm than good if you try to ignore the media. You also need to recognize that like the press, you have your own biases., and you are not always totally honest in telling your story." The best way to deal with the press - and everyone else - White said is to "tell them the truth."

Since becoming head of Abbott Laboratories, one of the largest diversified healthcare companies in the world, White has seen the company ranked among the top 50 American companies by both Business Week and Forbes.

As it usually does, the Midwest networking event drew another big and enthusiastic crowd. It has been held each year since 1995 and always precedes a meeting of the Board of Trustees who were on hand to greet the members and guests.