News & Opinion

Drinking From the Fire Hose

October 20, 2011

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We are all competing for space these days, space to put our message, and mental space to take in more information. There's less space, and more information by the minute, but as problematic as that seems, it's not the issue. Having more information is a good thing, as it provides the possibility that we'll get closer to, and more of, what we're looking for.

We are all competing for space these days, space to put our message, and mental space to take in more information. There's less space, and more information by the minute, but as problematic as that seems, it's not the issue. Having more information is a good thing, as it provides the possibility that we'll get closer to, and more of, what we're looking for. The problem is how to manage it, and how to use good judgement to get to the right stuff. Christopher Frank and Paul Magnone's new book, Drinking From the Fire Hose: Making Smarter Decisions Without Drowning in Information helps us make the right choices. Furthermore, these days, a simple internet search on any subject reveals a variety of things to buy that are based on that subject, not the actual information we're looking for. Digging deeper seems to only take you further away from the subject. This book is also a good guide on defining the criteria for the info you're looking for, which can help you refine your search and yield better results. Importantly, the book concludes not just with a summary of how to manage the overflow of data, it also gives advice on action steps to take with the information you have gathered. It's an important and helpful guide for the times we live in. And it's likely that the volume of information we have access to won't be slowing down, so it's good to read a book like this sooner than later.

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