It's a fact. We are living in a world with too much information.
The amount of data we produce is mind-boggling. Some 2.5 quintillion bytes of data are created daily and the pace is only accelerating. An eye-watering 90 percent of all the data in the world today was generated in the last two years alone. Gulp.
Not only is there too much information but it’s a huge distraction. It's harder than ever to prioritise what we consume and it compromises our ability to use the data effectively.
The term information-action ratio was first used more than 30 years ago to describe the relationship between a piece of information and the action, if any, that a consumer of that information might reasonably be expected to take after learning it.
The rapidly changing business landscape we inhabit makes it even more crucial to review our data consumption and only engage with information that correlates to meaningful, positive action.
Easier said than done, but the ability to “KonMari’* our work and headspace is a habit espoused by many of the world’s brightest business brains. Bill Gates and Warren Buffett speak of honing a ruthless ability to ‘eliminate the inessential’ and focus only on what is pertinent to achieving our goals. In turn we liberate hours of time, increase productivity and realise our ambitions. Sounds good? It might be described as the optimal ‘information-action’ ratio.
Here's what we learned:
Simplify your plan to 3 key strategic goal
Communicate these widely across the business
Ruthlessly prioritise time, tasks, resources
Eliminate the ‘inessential’ from your to do list
Reward and recognise behaviour that delivers the plan
According to Buffet, leaders who learn that focus and actively manage their 'information-action ratio' are the ones that transcend from good to become truly great.
There is no silver bullet (alas) to finding your focus but working on a plan to ‘eliminate the inessential’ is a strategy we highly recommend.
You need to find your focus. And fast.
*'KonMari' is the brand of Marie Kondo, the globally renowned tidying expert helping people transform their cluttered homes into spaces of serenity and inspiration.
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