Knowledge of how a system works is most beneficial when influencing or predicting outcomes.
The unofficial lines of communication we often call the 'grapevine' can be detected by originating a piece of information and tracking its flow throughout an organization. Tracking can be done by asking for opinions and other information at suspected locations. Noting the details of outcomes will reveal some clues.
When you plant a particularly sensitive or new bit of information on one person, it may be possible to trace the person's movements as the information is passed around. Some people will try to gain influence with their possession or passing of information. They become the nodes in the 'grapevine.'
As you perfect one method you will think of others.
This knowledge will guide you on what and where you conduct your future communications. Some day it may become crucial.
I was concluding a meeting with the owner of a transportation company when we decided to adjourn to a restaurant for an evening meal and more relaxed discussion. By this time all staff had left the premises. On our way to the parking lot he excused himself for one last minute detail. In the warehouse he climbed aboard a lift truck. He positioned the forks under a heavy carton, atop a pile of similar cartons. He transported it to another part of the warehouse and while the single carton was several feet above the ground he tilted the forks so that it crashed to the concrete floor. He, then, returned the lift truck to its original position.
He explained the action as we continued to our cars. For some time he had been suspicious of the controls practiced by this particular shipper. That carton would not accompany the rest of the shipment. He wanted to know if and when the shortfall would be noted by the shipper. The tone of his voice at the end of the explanation implied that was all I was to learn about the event. It was his method of cutting through the subterfuge and obfuscation of a complex system. To me, it seemed like a brutal way to test a system.
It should be no surprise when I tell you this person eventually became a mayor of a major metropolitan city.
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