Research update - wake up to commercial awareness
Jinfo Blog

By Robin Neidorf

Abstract

Commercial awareness is now a prerequisite for information managers and their teams. Find out how you can uniquely position yourself to shape the future of information by delving into the many valuable resources Jinfo has to offer on this subject.

Item

About two years ago, I started hearing the phrase, "commercial awareness" come up on the list of things forward-looking information managers most wanted to nurture within their departments.

Commercial awareness, along with consultancy skills, positions information teams as teams uniquely valuable to their organisations.

Register (free) to receive the full insight, which is the second in our current Research Focus, "The Information Centre of Excellence".

Although "commercial awareness" cropped up relatively recently for information managers, I realised that it is a concept we have incorporated into our research, writing and consulting on information strategy at Jinfo for a long time.

Commercially aware information services:

• Understand the business value of the information - don't just fulfil the client's immediate need
  
  
• Present results in context - the "why" and "what it means for the business"
  
  
• Know how the results will be used, so that the deliverable requires little or no additional interpretation by the recipient before they can get value
  
  
• Design user experiences that truly help them work smarter.

This can be a challenging development for many information professionals who may feel that the "why" is beyond the scope of their expertise. It can be a balancing act, and the balance will look a little different between organisations or even across departments of a single organisation.

Within the Jinfo Subscription, you'll find an upcoming Webinar and Community session to help you explore further, along with an excellent analysis on the concept of commercial awareness in an article by Barbara Hirsh.

If you're ready to go further, consider the Consulting workshop, "Future-proof your information service," in which you'll learn to embed commercial awareness into how you think, operate and support your stakeholders.

Commercial awareness is our future. It's exciting, it's stimulating, and it's your opportunity to shape the future of information.

I encourage you to register to get the full insight, and use the ideas in it to develop your perspective on the question.

This item was featured in the most recent Jinfo Newsletter. The Jinfo Newsletter brings you updates on Jinfo's research, latest resources and tips. If you're not yet receiving it, register here (free).

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