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.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.