Too much, too little, or just the right amount are the results that confront us when we look for information. Like Goldilocks, we want to make sure we have an amount that is “just right.” Information can be used for many different things such as to:
- Gain Knowledge
- Spark Ideas and Creativity
- Make Decisions
- Resolve Problems
- Satisfy Curiosity
- Gain Power
Individual relationships to information are different for each individual. My son is strictly an information hoarder and lover. As a child his bedtime stories were: Guinness Book of Records, Ripley’s Believe it or Not, the top 100 lists of all time, Sports Facts and Trivia, encyclopedias and dictionaries. Today he is known by those close to him to have the ability to recall some of “the most useless and odd information.” Someday it may prove useful. At sixteen years of age, his main concern now is whether it will help him get girls or play sports better. He thrives and seeks out information that he finds interesting.
My own relationship with information varies depending on what I need it for. If it is to make a decision, I can be relentless about digging deep for it, and have been accused of taking too long to get too much information before making a decision. However at other times, curiosity is the only thing that drives my search for information.
One of the simplest and most powerful questions a leader or anyone can ask is,
“What information do I need now, and how do I get it?”
Next blog post – information cautions and then quotes!
