Review your reports
Two ways to start thinking about the value of reports:
First:
Take a regular report produced in your organisation and find out:
• how much time is taken in preparation
• where it goes
• whether decisions are made on receiving it
Do not take ‘to know what’s going on’ as a valid reason for receiving a report. ‘Knowing what is going on’ is not taking action. You must focus on what actions follow from receiving reports.
Then a harder question: Are the actions taken based on knowledge?
Second:
Go to the IT department and find out what demands are made for reports (which are generated from the IT system). Note: include all ‘routine’ reports as sometimes they have become ‘routine’ simply because no-one has asked whether they are still needed.
Follow the reports and ask the same questions as before.