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Truth 5. It’s Important
to Know Who Knows What: Build your Circle of Information
Once upon a time, if you needed information, you usually
knew where to go for it. If no one in your company could
help, then a paid professional would. Information was in the
hands of a few experts, such as lawyers, librarians and
financial advisors, with clear titles and knowledge fields.
They offered ready-made solutions for most information
needs.
In today’s “information age” information is available from
multiple sources. The few trusted experts have become a
smorgasbord of options. There is more specialization; one
legal expert is no longer enough for every legal question,
and one big consultancy firm can’t help with all
organizational matters. With less emphasis on degrees and
titles, and more on real-life experience, it has become
harder to quickly assess people’s knowledge. And knowledge
is accessible in new ways – via Internet, email or phone –
making the location of advisors less important. Getting the
right information, despite, or even because of, the range
available, can be confusing and time consuming.
That’s where a good ‘circle of information’ comes in: a
diverse group of people, contacts gathered over time, who
know your thinking and who are there when you need them. You
can rely on them to give it to you straight, whether you
need to find a new employee, learn how to do business with a
new culture, or leverage your brand. You can also learn from
your circle by working through ideas, plans and problems
with them.
It’s important to have information sources both inside and
outside your organization. When you need to keep things low
key, an outsider may be a better bet, since insiders can
unintentionally reveal things to others. You should also
ensure that you have a few trusted ‘thinking partners:’ not
just family and friends likely to agree with you, but people
who will challenge you and ask you questions. These don’t
need to be experts as long as they understand you and your
business.
Thus, you have your inner circle and an outer or working
one. The former consists of a few people whom you can wholly
trust, who get to hear your innermost thoughts. Members need
to show loyalty while having no fear about questioning you.
Your working circle is wider, made up of all the people,
inside and outside your company, including experts, whom you
can call upon for information or help with knotty issues.
Its membership fluctuates; you bring in the right people for
the situation you’re in.
You build your circle of information by asking around your
network for recommendations, checking people’s backgrounds
and experience on the internet, and then bringing useful
folks on board. Test them either by involving them in a
small project, or by making use of the initial free access
that often comes with a referral to ask some questions of a
professional over the phone. Once you find good people,
professionals or not, nurture these relationships by using
them regularly, honoring their guidance, and keeping them
informed. You may want to use them when you aren’t desperate
for help so that they take your call when you are. However,
beware of using the same people all the time, or you may
find yourself depending on someone too much, or thinking
purely from one perspective.
You need to vet your circle of information all the time to
confirm that people are still right for you. Ask yourself
whether members respond to you in a timely manner and make
an effort to keep you in the know. Do they offer
personalized responses that show they have taken the time to
understand your situation? Do others still respect their
thinking? Last but not least, are they committed to keeping
confidential information confidential, and loyal enough not
to talk about you behind your back? If an expert talks about
you on the ski slopes of Switzerland the information may
find its way to your competitor in New York. We live in a
small world with an active internet! |
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