I had lunch with an old friend last week, and he got on my case for not being as up-to-date with international affairs as I used to be. A few years ago, he was the man who convinced me to start reading The Economist. It’s a fantastic magazine that has important news stories that even the 5 o’clock news neglects to mention. There was one particular issue in SE Asia last week that was forcing him to travel for work. In our lunchtime conversation, he asked my opinion of the business situation.
For the first time in a long time, all I could do was stare blankly back.
I realized that I had become so comfortible in my current position that I’d lost track with what’s going on in the rest of the world! I have stopped studying politics in other nations, trade policies in economic unions, the varrying positions of multinational corporations. I used to live and breathe this stuff … but I’d lost it all!
As a partial remedy, I’ve re-upped my subscription to The Economist. This one act won’t solve my problem by itself, but it will definitely be a positive first step towards being informed. Step number two is to actually read the magazine (or listen to the audio version). Step number three will be to discuss the material with others and actually apply learnings to my work and life.
So how informed are you? Not just about your industry and company, but your competitors and supporting industries. Have you fallen out-of-touch?
