September 2004

Choosing and Using Information
By Jan Richards, J. G. Richards Consulting

Choosing and using information to its best advantage isn't easy to do. Yet effective, clear-cut information management is essential to the health of any organization. The price paid for poor information practices is high: missed opportunities; time, money, and resources wasted on data that’s never used; and wrong decisions that must be corrected—often at significant costs. The first step in improving the process in your own company is to understand the various things that can—and do—go wrong. From there, you can take the steps necessary to effect change.

Understanding the Issues

• Too much information is collected.
  Some companies are drowning in data. Others have information that's overly complex, unwieldy, or untimely. According to Peter Drucker, a world-renowned management philosopher, writer, and Claremont University business professor, “The fewer data needed, the better the information. And an overload of information...leads to information blackout. It does not enrich, but impoverishes.”
• No one is certain what it all means.
  Frequently, only one or two people in an organization can piece the information together so that it makes sense. This typically creates a bottleneck that prevents data, decisions, and actions from flowing effectively. Yale librarian, Rutherford Rogers, offers this insightful perspective, “We’re drowning in information and starving for knowledge.”
• The data is frequently changed.
  Companies with inefficient information management don’t really have a clear direction for data, thus they never really see trends and whether their actions and improvements are moving them closer to their goals. Author Douglas Adams offers his perspective, “I refuse to answer that question on the grounds that I don’t know the answer.”
• Too little information is collected.
  Repeating previous errors—or making new ones—that could have been prevented if enough accurate information was collected is a common mistake. Just like Sherlock Holmes who cried, “Data! Data! Data! I can’t make bricks without clay.” Your organization can’t make the best decisions without proper homework.
• No information is collected.
  Organizations that don’t gather the necessary information are unable to see or manage where they’re going. Granted, great inventions do evolve from completely unforeseen circumstances; however, most companies don’t have the time, money, or management support to follow the serendipitous, unplanned, unmonitored route. A good friend of mine had this mildly amused, slightly frustrated reaction to this type of situation, “Now see! This is the problem with guessing!”

Improving Your Information Management Process

Once you understand the contributing problems, the next step is improving your own information management processes by implementing the following best practices:

• Ask
  Ask the users of the information what they need, when, and in what format—before you begin. It may also help to have them provide mock-ups, detailing what they would find most valuable.
• Compare
  Compare what's needed with what you do have or do provide now and begin to close the gaps. What, specifically, are those gaps—content, timing, format? What is the easiest, most effective way to close them? How should you begin? How can you begin now?
• Stop
  Stop collecting data and doing analyses that no one wants or needs. Don't be surprised if some of the facts and figures you gather fall into this category. We may continue to do things because we always have, even when recipients ignore or bypass the collected information in favor of their own analyses. This, however, can create a separate set of problems. If users find they actually need the information after all, simply return it—but do so in a format that makes it more useful.
• Verify
  Verify the quality and reliability of your information. Are better resources available? Can you improve the data by cross referencing multiple sources instead of using those that no longer sufficiently meet your needs?
• Experiment
  You must be willing to experiment as you make improvements. The changes you make may not be perfect now, but you can adjust and improve your approach and results as you grow and gain experience.

Jan Richards (J. G. Richards Consulting) helps Bay Area companies clarify their vision, goals, and priorities and implement strong and effective process management, enabling them to increase revenues and decrease costs. She’s consulted for over 10 years with clients in the high-tech, financial services, biotech, and Internet arenas.