Information Facts of Life

According to an article from HBR (March-April 1994), there are rules governing information sharing behavior. Having run across these rules doing some Change Management research this morning, I find these rules relevant even 26 years later.

• Most of the information in organizations – and most of the information people really care about – is not on computers.
• Managers prefer to get information from people rather than computers; people add value to raw information by interpreting it and adding context.
• The more complex and detailed an information management approach, the less likely it is to change anyone’s behavior.
• All information does not have to be common; an element of flexibility and disorder is desirable.
• The more a company knows and cares about its core business area, the less likely employees will be to agree on a common definition of it.
• If information is power and money, people will not share it easily.
• The willingness of individuals to use a specified information format is directly proportional to how much they have participated in defining it, or trust other who did.
• To make the most of electronic communications, employees must first learn to communicate face to face.
• Since people are important sources and integrators of information, any maps of information should include people.
• There is no such thing as information overload; if information is really useful our appetite for it is insatiable.

Original Article can be found here.