Info vs products

["Walker, Arlen P" <Arlen -dot- P -dot- Walker -at- JCI -dot- COM>]

      best companies don't even sell products

      I'm glad Mazda actually sold me a car, rather than telling me how a
      car makes my life better, and I'm glad Chilton's has detailed
      instructions for rebuilding the motor, rather than just telling me
      how I can save hundreds if I rebuild myself.

While Steve's second example misses the mark (Chilton's sells information,
not a product) his first illustrates a basic point that is too often missed
in our unthinking, lemming-like pursuit of "the information economy."

Information is of value only to those capable of using it. I could explain
the principles of the internal combustion engine until the cows come home,
until everyone on the list could repeat it in their sleep, yet that
information would have no value to the 99.9% of the people on this list who
do not have the tools, material and time to build one.

The relationship between products and info is similar to the relationship
between matter and energy. Matter and energy are convertible to each other
(E=mc^2 and m = e/(c^2) though the second equation remains theoretical at
the moment). Products and information are also convertible one to another.
(Ever disassembled anything to see how it worked? You converted a product
to information. Ever built anything? You converted information to a
product.)

So the "best companies" are *not* limited to those which sell information
exclusively. And the best documentation isn't always documentation which
shows you how a product works and lets you decide how to do the tasks your
situation requires. Sometimes the best documentation is the one which
simply gives you some clear concise instructions to follow, because your
situation doesn't allow the luxury of waiting for understanding to arrive
before proceeding. (Yes, in a perfect world understanding always precedes
action. Now, when you find such a world send me directions on how to get
there and what the rents are.)


Have fun,
Arlen
Chief Managing Director In Charge, Department of Redundancy Department
DNRC 224

Arlen -dot- P -dot- Walker -at- JCI -dot- Com
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In God we trust; all others must provide data.
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Opinions expressed are mine and mine alone.
If JCI had an opinion on this, they'd hire someone else to deliver it.

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