Wave of the Future in Information Gathering

Career Management. There are hundreds, if not thousands, of books written on the subject. Every college and university offer degrees in the field. Individuals devote their lives to the task of defining and improving career management. So what could you possibly learn about the subject from reading a stupid newsletter? What made the editors of this rag think that they could provide you with some earth shattering insight into the world of career management? Who thought the Brady Bunch would make a good movie? I can't answer these questions, but I can give you an excuse to read on. Is the suspense killing you? Then continue and be dazzled by my insight.

If you are like me, you would prefer to read a good fiction novel rather than read a self help book. Don't get me wrong. Steven Covey is a brilliant man, but his books just don't stand up to a Clive Cussler novel, or Dirk Pitt's adventure to Raise the Titanic. Frankly, I have not found a self help book that didn't put me to sleep quicker than a double shot of NyQuil. And how many of us actually go to a seminar or symposium to learn something? If they intended for us to learn something they would hold them in places like Andrews, Texas or Wausau, Wisconsin. But to survive in the "real world", you have to be able to understand, not just recite the latest industry buzz words. One good way of doing this is to read newsletters and periodicals. The newsletters and periodicals tend to be shorter and less sleep inducing than books and seminars. They help you to screen the theories presented because some other insomniac has read the book first or did your research. Remember in college when you searched through stacks of used textbooks to find the one with the most highlighting in it? Or searched for two weeks to find the Cliff's Notes to a book, when you could have read the book in three days? The same effort should be used to find newsletters and periodicals that can be of use to you in your working life. College only lasts four years for the normal individual (OK, so it took me five years). But work will last for the rest of your life. Take your time to find the right collection of resources to serve your specific needs. The collection should be able to keep you abreast of industry specific trends as well as general topics such as management techniques. Don't be afraid to include a couple of "off-the-wall" topics in your collection. I am by trade a computer support specialist. But I have included cooking in my collection of topics for years. The only help this has in my working life is as a stress relief. (But I will save that discussion for when the editor of this newsletter decides to pick that topic and is stupid enough to ask me to write again.) The collection should be readily available, easy to read or scan, and not cost a fortune to acquire. Some companies will pay for subscriptions to periodicals. Take advantage of this. Another great tool is to subscribe to a news service. News services will scan collections of periodicals for key words and provide you with abbreviated listings based on your selected keywords. These services are available through electronic services such as CompuServe and Prodigy. A few even offer access via the Internet. Others, such as the one to which I subscribe, fax a sheet of article briefs to me each morning. Check into these options. Many companies have corporate subscriptions.

Hopefully in all of this gibberish you have found a reason to read this newsletter and others like it. The editors of these publications strive to give you tools that can be beneficial to you without being to much of a burden to read. Use the tools wisely.

One closing thought and I'll leave you alone. What do you plant to grow seedless watermelons? Think about it.

-Daniel Wilhite