In the May issue of this newsletter, we discussed the 4 types of internal information. This article will discuss outside information.  Let us briefly revisit the inside information to get our minds clear first.  The 4 types of inside organisation information are (a) Financial and accounting, (b) Cost of ownership and price setting, (c) Core competence of organisation, and (d) Allocation of organisational resources.

Outside information refers to (a) Demographics and environmental, (b) Customer requirements, (c) Technology changes.  These types of information are normally processed in an intuitive manner but not collected and analyzed systematically. Have the recent advances in computer technologies helped in these 3 areas?  The short answer is yes and no.  Yes, there are computer tools for collecting the information more cost-effectively than before. Examples are topical feeding and searching tools.  No, current computer tools do not constitute a system yet as opposed to some CRM software systems that address most of the inside information.  What do we do then?  Do not rely on off-the-shelf software at this stage.  Define your business mission with respect to the outside world (not necessarily making lots of money) and the source of information.  Set up a routine to collect and filter information.  Reject information that provides uncertainty.  Build up information to reveal patterns.  Email This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it if you wish to discuss this issue further.