Gen Matthew Ridgway

What has a Korean war general got to do with information or insight ?

General Matthew Ridgways' leadership as a commander of the 8th Army during the Korean war is well documented. I was particularly drawn to his recognition and pursuit of intelligence. I hope as practitioners, managers and leaders of information in your organization you relate to the excerpts below. I was inspired into Twittering as I was reading it !

Some excerpts from the book ...

(1) On arrival Ridgway almost immediately started to tour forward positions. He'd go out all day with the troops, then when he came back at night, he'd have to be briefed - on everything .. As information leaders do you prefer a birds' eye view or do you take time to visit the trenches to understand what is happening at the grassroots level of data collection and data integration?

(2) ... He was appalled by what he found .. almost no intelligence of any significance. He visited one corps commander who did not even know the name of a nearby river. "My God almighty!" he said later of that particular piece of ignorance.
Sound familiar ? How many times have you gasped at the fact that your teams have limited or incorrect information to make meaningful decisions

(3) .. Not to know the location and strength of the enemy was in his eyes as great as a sin as a commander could commit. He changed that quickly. He visited each headquarters, not just division and regimental, but sometimes battalion and company, arriving in his little plane, landing where no airstrip existed. ... "Nothing by your love of comfort binds you to the roads"..

An IT leader has the greatest responsibility of providing the right information at the right time to the business. As a business leader, your awareness about the information your organization is collecting is paramount.

(4) ... "Find it ! Fix it !! Fight it !!! Finish it !!!!" ...

Need I say more ? When it comes to quality and completeness of information there is a continuum to discover, reinforce, monitor and deliver on your strategic asset.

Are you effectively managing your information hot spots and winning like Gen Ridgway ?

Twitter readers have asked me for reference to the book. Here it is.. Coldest Winter, The: America and the Korean War

Note: I draw parallels in information management from my readings, observations across a variety of topics. Hope your takeaways and feedback are in the same context.