| About 20 years ago I was told that information was | | | | effective. Here we will explore some strategies that |
| doubling every 5 years; 5 years ago it was every 18 | | | | may help us reduce the 'noise'. So in the spirit of less |
| months; 1 year ago it was every 9 minutes, so who | | | | is more, here are some simple principles we can |
| knows how fast information is doubling now? | | | | follow as a guide to effective noise reduction and |
| Many business leaders, sales people and many more | | | | decision making: |
| are reporting information overload. Selecting what to | | | | Step 1: Set clear goals |
| take on board and what to leave behind will be critical | | | | - Clear goals help you determine what to focus on |
| for sales and business success. It will also be critical | | | | and what information you need to have at hand to |
| for our own well being. | | | | help you achieve your goals. |
| There is so much to read and process, and so little | | | | - Clear goals help you prioritise your thinking and |
| time to do it well. Many people report feeling that | | | | actions, assisting you in planning each step of the |
| their brains are 'bursting' as a result of so much | | | | way. |
| information and wonder how they can process, log, | | | | Step 2: Determine what you need to know |
| link and manage the information they are exposed to | | | | - Put in place filters that will help you determine what |
| and then use it wisely and purposefully. | | | | information you want to focus on: Does this |
| With all this good information on tap, I am increasingly | | | | information help you get closer to the goals that are |
| finding myself feeling incredibly frustrated with the | | | | important to you? |
| amount of rubbish information I have to wade | | | | - Work out what is 'essential', 'desirable' and |
| through every day as well. There seems to be so | | | | 'nice-to-have', and prioritise in that order. |
| much 'noise' out there competing with the good data. | | | | - Cultivate a scientific mindset - scientists begin by |
| Not only do businesses have to keep on top of what | | | | defining a hypothesis then look specifically for data or |
| is the latest market trend, product, or competitor | | | | information that either corroborates or refutes that |
| strategy, we are also dealing with the merging of | | | | hypothesis. |
| personal information with business information. It | | | | - Determine what information and networks your |
| appears email remains a major source of information | | | | business and your sales people need to be aware of |
| overload, as people struggle to keep up with the rate | | | | in order to make good decisions (i.e. market trends, |
| of incoming messages especially, the filtering out of | | | | competitors, product innovations, changes in |
| unsolicited messages such as spam, and ever growing | | | | legislation, etc.) |
| tsunami of personal information keeping us distracted | | | | - Find out what your clients are interested in reading |
| and often disturbed. There is even a syndrome to | | | | and hearing. |
| describe people who give out too much information | | | | - Find sites and networks that keep you up to date |
| about themselves. It is called TMI syndrome (too | | | | with the latest trends and are quick and easy to |
| much information) and it's coming at us with | | | | read. |
| unprecedented speed via Facebook, Twitter, and | | | | - Make sure your CRM is collecting useful client and |
| especially email. | | | | market information that is aligned to your goals and |
| The general causes of information overload include: | | | | can be applied in a meaningful manner (i.e. creating |
| - A rapidly increasing rate of new information being | | | | client buying patterns report, etc.), then ignore the |
| produced | | | | rest. |
| - The ease of duplication and transmission of data | | | | Step 3: Determine effectiveness |
| across the Internet | | | | - What information (blogs/references/forums |
| - An increase in the available channels of incoming | | | | publications/social media sites/networks, etc.) are |
| information (e.g. telephone, email, instant messaging, | | | | proving to be useful to you (your customers, your |
| RSS, etc.) | | | | business and your communities)? Why? |
| - Large amounts of historical information to dig | | | | - Check why you originally chose this information or |
| through | | | | network sources and ask if they are still relevant. |
| - Contradictions and inaccuracies in available | | | | - Determine how often you use these information |
| information | | | | sources. |
| - Lack of a method for comparing and processing | | | | - Check how you apply these information sources in |
| different kinds of information | | | | your job or in your communication with each other |
| - The pieces of information are unrelated or do not | | | | and clients/suppliers (tangible outcomes, practical |
| have any overall structure to reveal their relationships | | | | solutions, etc.) |
| At no other time in history have we had access to | | | | - Verify what is 'fact' and what is not. Is it evidenced |
| so much information however, it poses some | | | | based? Is it supplied by a reputable source that can |
| interesting questions: | | | | be validated and checked? |
| | | | - Check how quickly it takes you to gain a quick and |
| 1. How do we verify what is fact and what is not? | | | | concise understanding of the content. |
| 2. What should we be paying attention to? | | | | Step 4: Prioritise and don't be afraid to limit your |
| 3. What is useful to us, our customers, our | | | | options |
| businesses and our communities? | | | | - Count how many subscriptions you currently have |
| 4. How should we process, log, link and manage | | | | or networks you belong to; check for duplications (i.e. |
| information to make it work for us? | | | | similar blogs, sites or networks offering the same |
| To cope with this increase in noise some are trying | | | | information) and irrelevant sites or networks (not |
| to shut it out while many others are distracted by | | | | aligned to your goals) then cull. |
| simply trying to keep on top of it, which is keeping | | | | - Reduce your 'daily' alerts to 'weekly' alerts. |
| them from doing other important activities. Either | | | | - Don't check your emails every time they arrive, |
| way, many are reporting feelings of anxiety at being | | | | make time to check every 15-30 minutes or so. |
| overwhelmed by and unable to process so much | | | | - Create a new email address exclusively for your |
| information. | | | | subscriptions so your working email is not cluttered |
| With information comes choice and without proper | | | | up with low priority data. |
| guidelines and filters in place, too much information | | | | - Synchronise your bookmarks. |
| and too many choices can lead to indecision. | | | | - Create a filing system that allows you to reference |
| Indecision can then lead to paralysis making us | | | | your information quickly and easily. |
| unhappy, unproductive, and at worst, ineffective. In | | | | - Link new information to what you already know. |
| sales careers, or any role for that matter, too much | | | | Drawing concept maps is one such way that helps |
| information and the subsequent indecision is a real | | | | you to build knowledge over time and draw links |
| killer - in fact, making no decision is far worse than | | | | between ideas and knowledge sources. |
| making the wrong decision. | | | | - Allocate specific time twice or three times per |
| At times I feel I am drowning in a tsunami of | | | | week to review your subscription information sources |
| information and feel increasingly confused as I try to | | | | rather than being constantly interrupted by incoming |
| work out what to focus on and what to discard. I | | | | alerts. |
| am not alone in these feelings; many people I speak | | | | - If you need to surf the web, make time to do so |
| to are also reporting feeling overwhelmed and | | | | when it doesn't interfere with your work priorities. |
| anxious by all the 'noise'. Some are even checking out | | | | Step 5: Find some quiet time |
| of mainstream information and news sources and | | | | - Allow your mind and your senses to rest and |
| choosing to dramatically reduce their diet of | | | | switch off. Being overly anxious narrows your focus |
| information. | | | | and limits your ability to sort through and process |
| In our haste to keep up, be on top of things, be | | | | information effectively. |
| seen as the one with all the answers, and be ahead | | | | - As strange and boring as this may sound, find time |
| of the pack, are we inadvertently creating a climate | | | | to do mundane tasks that do not require you to |
| of confusion, indecision, and unnecessary distress by | | | | process complex information. |
| exposing ourselves and our teams to too much | | | | - Do some regular exercise like yoga or go for a run |
| information? I suggest the answer is 'Yes'. | | | | to get in touch with your body, breath, heart and |
| For instance, there is a learned behavioural syndrome | | | | nature. |
| called 'Overpreparer' which can account for 40%+ | | | | - Meditation requires effort to achieve single pointed |
| drop in sales productivity for sales people with | | | | focus, however the daily practice of meditation |
| Overpreparer tendencies. It is often caused by | | | | quiets the busy mind and gives you the space you |
| organisations placing undue importance on the need | | | | need to recharge and recover from information |
| to be overly prepared and knowledgeable. Being | | | | overload. |
| prepared takes precedence over getting out and | | | | As you can see, even discussing reducing noise |
| selling. For instance, in banking and finance where | | | | creates noise... Without running away to live in a |
| compliance is important, Overpreparing is often | | | | cave, my best suggestion is to take on board a |
| systemic creating a culture of indecision and paralysis | | | | couple of things; stop reading about reducing noise |
| by analysis where sales people use it as an excuse to | | | | and get out there and sell. By staying focused on a |
| not prospect and sell. | | | | few keys things and taking action we might just find |
| Despite feeling out of control we can regain control | | | | that the noise fades into a faint, background murmur |
| over how we process, use and manage information. | | | | and we are happier and more productive as a result. |
| Having a clear head and removing clutter from our | | | | Remember everybody lives by selling something. |
| lives is critical if we want to be productive and | | | | |