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Listen Up! I’m Talkin’ to Ya

Please excuse the rude title. Let me explain: I’m conducting research. Just a few questions, if you don’t mind. Did the brash title catch your attention? Were you more curious about the content of the article because of it? Was this the first article in the newsletter you read? You can email your responses to me. I’ll be sure to read them—that is, if I have the time.

You see, I’m another victim of the Information Age. I imagine you are too. Every day we’re inundated with messages arriving at our desks via telephone, voice mail, email, postal mail, overnight packets, faxes, memos, newspapers, the Internet, and coworkers’ interruptions. Did I mention meetings?  

A recent Gallup study found that the average worker sends and receives a total of 178 messages a day. Seventy-five percent of those surveyed indicated that they felt overwhelmed by the flow of information. Other studies have linked too much information to increased frustration, memory problems, impaired judgment, and attention disorders.  

Granted, modern information technologies offer real benefits. But there is a significant downside. Overcome by information overload, we find it increasingly difficult to communicate with one another. We are electronically linked to people around the world, but alarmingly disconnected from those closest to us—like the coworker in the next office.  

Likewise, we should not assume the rapid transfer of information will result in an automatic increase in knowledge. As David Shenk, author of the book Data Smog: Surviving the Information Glut, warns, we may be “creating an overstimulated work environment where workers are numb to quietly intelligent ideas.”  

It’s easy these days to produce information in volume, but it’s value that’s needed. Adds Columbia University ’s Eli Noam, “Anyone can add information. The difficult question is how to reduce it.” Knowledge that produces results—the widely touted goal of the Information Age—is not defined by how much you know, but what you know.  

Many technical consultants have been seduced by the false promises of information proliferation. Our computers churn out data by the reams. Wide-area networks allow us to send files instantly to coworkers across the country. We can convert field information into reports and maps at ever increasing speed. Sometimes we even measure productivity in pages per hour.  

But the questions persist: How much are we really communicating? Do we understand our clients better? Are our project teams working together more effectively? Do we feel better informed, or overwhelmed by all the sources of information?  

The inescapable fact is that while information technology has advanced in quantum leaps, our human capacities remain relatively unchanged. It still takes the same amount of time to develop relationships, understanding, teamwork, and wisdom. In fact, over-reliance on technology can impair these fundamental interpersonal processes.  

Like the old United Airlines commercial reminded us, there’s no substitute for old fashioned face-to-face interaction. People still respond best to individual attention. We can transfer data rapidly, but it still takes time to truly communicate.  

Lest we resort to shouting to get another’s attention, we will need to keep these things in mind. The Information Age presents us with an unprecedented array of choices. But for us to derive the benefits of technological advances, we will need to focus on the few choices that really matter.  

Copyright © 1997, The Business Edge, all rights reserved (from the newsletter The Consultant Communicator)

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