Information as Differentiator

Quoted in this post at Fast Company Blog is this thought provoker from Microsoft's Bill Gates:

"The most meaningful way to differentiate your company from your competition, the best way to put distance between yourself and the crowd, is to do an outstanding job with information. How you gather, manage, and use information will determine whether you win or lose."

Suppose Gates is right in his assessment, then what do you think are the most critical information that is required to differentiate your organization in order to secure your success?

Today we deal with an overexposure to information, or perhaps, more accurately, an overexposure to data. It seems that there is an incredible amount of information that is generated everyday.

For instance, in running a business, you have information about your business transactions, about your products and processes, about your customers, about your customer interactions, about your people and you can get all sorts of information about the industry, the marketplace, the economy and the environment.

How do you prioritize what information is pertinent or critical to your success?

What processes do you employ to gather the information, to process it, to manage it and then to be able to effectively use it in your organization?

How do you dessiminate this information through your ranks and through to your constituents? Finally, how much does packaging plays a part in the success factor?