Information Ain't Power Anymore

The phrase information is power has long been used to explain political manoeuvres in public life and in businesses. Generations have striven to acquire knowledge and thereby rise up the food chain.
I would suggest that with the advent of Google and more recently mobile devices like the iPhone, information and therefore knowledge on virtually any subject is available to anyone, anyplace anytime.
So if knowledge is no longer the factor that differentiates us then what is?
The answer as I see it, is time, or more precisely our lack of it. It shouldn't be that way because most of us subscribe to more supposedly time saving devices than our parents ever did. Yet we work longer hours, commute further and proudly claim to be "sooo busy"
Strangely this must mean that the very busy are at a distinct disadvantage. When do they find the time and energy to think creatively, research new opportunities and tap into the infinite knowledge library that is just a click away?
More importantly is our busyness and connectedness fooling us into believing we are establishing and maintaining deep and meaningful relationships when really we are just developing relationships a mile wide and an inch deep.
What if the thing that keeps us busy stopped? Would our lives still have meaning?
Each minute of each day we are free to choose how we use our time, its more valuable than ever, let's not waste it.

Busy Fools

I thought Blackberrys, Microsoft Outlook and Open Plan Offices were all supposed to save us time and make us more efficient. Yet most of the middle managers I come across seem to be busier, more stressed and consequently more indecisive than ever before.

A packed diary might fool some into thinking we are successful but in truth it simply says we have no time to seize new opportunities, think creatively or sit down with a colleague in need.

Here are a few of the tricks I’ve picked up from those that seem to have got the balance right;

• Be clear about your priorities – know what your role requires of you and where you want your career to go, eliminate any activity that doesn’t relate directly to these objectives


• Avoid committees – they rarely make good decisions, they spend far too much time discussing minutiae and they steal time from your diary way into the future


• Learn how to close a phone call – with a few well chosen phrases. My favourite is ‘don’t let me keep you any longer’ This way you can politely terminate the call without ending the relationship


• Don’t get comfortable – some of my most productive meetings have been conducted standing up and the worst, in unventilated meeting rooms in comfortable chairs


• Break habits – just because meetings normally start at 10am and last for 60 minutes in the conference room it doesn’t mean that’s the right formula. Try different durations, locations and times depending on the urgency and desired outcome.


• Say no – not ‘I’ll consider’ it or ‘Come back to me, next week’ Busy fools allow their mouths to operate independently to their brain, just say what you mean.


• Ignore email – at the very start of the day, begin by mapping out what you really need to achieve rather than allowing your Inbox to dictate your day.


• Go on a course – If Microsoft Outlook or similar handles your email and diary then set aside half a day to improve your knowledge of its functionality and the settings you use. Most people don’t use these systems efficiently and an hour invested in training could save you days over the next year.


• Take action – Reply, file or delete every email and letter on first sight, don’t let them loiter around, take action immediately.


• Tell the world – how you operate, if you find it best to check emails at defined times, say before 10am and after 4pm include a note to that effect in your signature. Do likewise with ‘out of office’ and voicemail.
  
  In the future, there will be yet more gadgets that need our attention; managers must take back control so that the technology doesn’t manage them.