The Value Of Information Sources In Business

A while ago, a friend of mine worked for a tech firm that specialised in office automation products. This was in the pre-internet era where proposals to potential customers were typed, printed and signed before handing them out.

These were the times when the shredder was a big part of the information management matrix. Any faulted proposal had to be shredded to manage the information risk present in poor disposal methods.

One good salesman at this firm who quit to set up his own competing outfit, often paid his former employer's office cleaning staff to skip shredding the disposal destined documents.

And for a long time, this salesman fed off his former employer's pipeline on all the critical business deals. The typing pool staff were in the mix and generated far too many error-filled proposals. By the time it was discovered, the salesman had fully established himself as a formidable competitor.

I don't advocate espionage, and such acts must never go unpunished. But it is often the case rather than the exception that competitors buy information to outsmart the competition.

The same thing happens in times of war. And even in peaceful times, ambassadors of rival countries are known to have been gifted with shoes fitted with powerful microphones and transmission equipment.

In the backrooms during the first and the second world wars, telegraphic messages got intercepted and good interpreters decoded the messages to the rude surprise of the enemies.

Once a target's weaknesses are established, the adversary moves in to take advantage of them. Often, men entrapped by female special agents have spilt the beans unexpectedly when repeatedly nourished generously with their weaknesses.

The crude methods are available to some law enforcement agencies and cartel rings. Many are bloody or excruciatingly painful.

Insider trading in the money markets is illegal but it happens, and the more stringent the authorities get, the more sophisticated the partakers get.

These are a few examples of unethical information-seeking sources. But we also have phishing and hacking of gadgets to access useful data. Whichever method one chooses, some money must change hands. It is a steady business for many people.

Information sources are as crucial to a business as the presence of good staffers is. You can tell how ethical a business is based on the information sources that they invest in. Prevention of information leaks is just as crucial too as obtaining it. This calls for watertight information management measures.

Since most people now use their phones as their primary sources of generating or receiving information, it is crucial to understand what there is out there that can help. As a non-techie, I can only advise that you surf the internet for available solutions.

The Netflix series, The Blacklist, has the star actor, Raymond Reddington, a fugitive of sorts helping a government agency obtain information that they otherwise would not have, as a way of staying free. His loyal aid, Dembe, is equally a well-trained operative who delivers all the time.

We have Reddingtons all over in the people who feed important people with information, to gain favours or remain relevant in the scheme of things. And where there is a Reddington, there is always a Dembe.

It is even more interesting when a wife is the Reddington and the husband is the Dembe. This is where stealth mode is deployed to great effect. The untrained eye reads it as 'kukaliwa'. But a little more attention to detail will expose the intricate operation often powered by pillow talks.

So, if you are neither Reddington nor Dembe in the equation, you are the target. Do not behave like Kenya's border with Somalia—a dangerously porous membrane.

It is of great importance to guard against information leakages. Many organisations lose market share and revenues through such leakages.

The importance of guarding information cannot be overstated. Be wise.