The concept of information continues to change at a once-unthinkable pace. So let’s step back and consider these 21 quotes on the subject, spanning more than 30 years, from Peter Drucker:
“Balancing change and continuity requires continuous work on information.” (1999)
“Businesses, especially large ones, have little choice but to become information-based.” (1988)
“But the organization, too, has to become information-literate. It, too, needs to learn to ask, What information do we need in this company? When do we need it? In what form? And where do we get it?” (1992)
“Effective executives make sure that both their action plans and their information needs are understood.” (2004)
“For communication to be effective there has to be both information and meaning.” (1989)
“If an economy is defined as a common demand-pattern, it is also a pool of shared information.” (1968)
“Information is data endowed with relevance and purpose.” (1988)
“Information is something that is pertinent to the task that can be converted into knowledge.” (1987)
“Just as modern money penetrated the whole world within less than a century and totally changed people’s lives and aspirations, we can safely assume that information now penetrates everywhere.” (1990)
“Learning and teaching are going to be more deeply affected by the new availability of information than any other area of human life.” (1969)
“The “knowledge society” is a society of large organizations – government and business- that necessarily operate on the flow of information.” (1989)
“The psychological impact of the Information Revolution, like that of the Industrial Revolution, has been enormous.” (1999)
“There is a great deal said and written these days about the technological impacts of information. But perhaps its social impacts are greater still, and more important.” (1989)
“Traditional organization basically rests on command authority. The flow is from the top down. Information-based organization rests on responsibility. The flow is circular from the bottom up and then down again.” (1985)
“The truly revolutionary impact of the Information Revolution is just beginning to be felt.” (1999)
“We are just beginning to understand how to use information as a tool.” (1999)
“We are rebuilding organizations around information.” (1998)
“We need a new concept of information and a new understanding of learning and teaching.” (1969)
“What we call the Information Revolution is actually a Knowledge Revolution.” (1999)
“When information is no longer scarce, believe me, you very soon learn that less is more, and that more is most definitely less.” (1987)
“Where communication is perception, information is logic.” (1969)
Thinking deeply about the meaning and importance of information is a worthy pursuit in the waning days of August. Especially for students and teachers who are soon to begin a new semester!
{This post originally appeared on my LinkedIn page: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/fyi-21-curated-peter-drucker-quotes-information-bruce-rosenstein/}