In 1850, the European telegraphic network still had a yawning 75-mile gap between its Belgian terminus in Brussels and the first German telegraph station in Aachen. Paul Julius Reuter (1816–1899) saw all too clearly how this gap prevented the rapid transmission of information and, convinced that customers would be willing to pay for swifter information, took the bold step of setting up his own messaging service. To bridge the gap between Brussels and Aachen, he hit upon the clever idea of using carrier pigeons. The birds delivered information about the latest stock market and commodities prices so quickly that anyone receiving and making immediate use of that information could make a fortune in Europe’s stock markets. In other words, this faster access to knowledge was worth a great deal of money, and Reuter’s business flourished to such an extent that he was soon “employing” one breeder’s entire team of homing pigeons, bringing his fleet of “messengers” to more than 200 birds. Every day, the pigeons were brought by train from Aachen to Brussels. From there, each message was carried by three birds, to make sure that its contents arrived safely. As soon as the pigeons arrived in Aachen, staff at Reuter’s office telegraphed the information throughout Germany.
During 1851, as the size of the gap in the telegraph network steadily diminished, Reuter used horses and riders to carry the information over the ever shorter distance until the network was finally completed on April 16, 1851, bringing his monopoly to an end.
Reuter then moved to London to build up a company that would transmit news reliably and, above all, more rapidly than anyone else. In that endeavor he succeeded, creating a news service that provided British newspapers with up-to-date information from across Europe. In fact he even managed to ensure that “Reuters” was cited as the source of information at the bottom of every transmission, paving the way for Reuters to become a brand synonymous with information services.
A further breakthrough for Reuter came in April 1865 when, using the best available technology at the time and a sophisticated information relay system, he was the first to break the news of the assassination of Abraham Lincoln to newspapers and the business community. Clearly, Reuter had recognized the tremendous value of information. And to this day his name remains inextricably associated with breaking news.
Let us now consider the role played by information in management. In principle, managers need to be informed about goings-on, both inside and outside their organization. It is also essential to have a steady, guaranteed flow and exchange of information between individual parts of their organization and between that organization and its partners. In this chapter we focus on how to work effectively with information inside an organization and in exchanges with partners. Information on the environment and on other external aspects is primarily covered in the following chapter, about James Wilson.
Information makes knowledge workers effective and is the lifeblood of any organization. Consequently, the relevant questions to ask in this connection are: “What information does the knowledge worker need to make a contribution?” and “What information does the organization need from the knowledge worker to enable others to make contributions?”
Starting with the first question, we note that only the knowledge workers can decide what needs to be known in order to carry out their duties effectively. Data must always be provided in consultation with the user, who is best placed to decide which information out of the vast quantity of available data is actually useful, how that information needs to be organized, and what action subsequently needs to be taken based on that information, to achieve the desired results. As a rule, everyone knows the guidelines for doing this, yet by no means do all organizations regularly question the content, scope, and frequency of distributed information. As a result, many reports are drawn up “purely out of habit.” Organizations that do regularly ask questions about the form and content of reports, correspondence, meetings, off-site sessions, and other methods of transferring information not only massively boost their productivity, but at the same time enhance their effectiveness by making sure that the right information is available.
The second of the two questions asked above, about what information the organization needs from an individual knowledge worker to function effectively, spotlights the task and common goals of people working there and enables the effective organization of communication. In this context, consideration needs to be given to the frequency with which information is to be provided, the form it assumes when conveyed, and the list of recipients. At the same time there is a need to stipulate who will compile the body of information and to specify which individuals need to make a contribution.
Organizations can function properly only when all the relevant people contribute to the continuous flow of information. For this reason, it is important for each individual to be aware of his or her personal responsibility for collecting and conveying information. Furthermore, these individuals must discipline themselves to fulfill that responsibility. Organizations that do this not only end up making better decisions, but do so considerably faster. This gives them something truly essential: functional reliability. And while this will not actually eliminate the risk of decisions being based on missing or incorrect information, it will substantially reduce that risk.
There is a very simple way of ensuring that those dispatching information pass on the right information at the right time and in a suitable form: Make sure that people talk with each other. If you are a manager, go to those people with whom you work and ask them this seemingly simple question: “What information do you need from me to do your job effectively?” Then state what information you require to do your job, specifying how often you would like to receive it and how much detail you require. This same conversation should be repeated at regular intervals, at least every 12 to 18 months or whenever the organization as a whole, a specific job, or key duties of the people involved undergo some major change. When deliberating all this, remember that most of the information that managers need to do their job can only be obtained from outside their organization. This aspect of management is covered in greater detail in the next chapter, on James Wilson.
Think about how you deal with information and how it flows within your organization. Where do you see room for improvements?
What information do you need so that you can contribute effectively, and what information does the organization need from you?
Question how you need to organize your work to leave enough time to devote to relevant information. What do you need to do to ensure that you can exploit and apply relevant information?