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CHAPTER 10Too Much Information

Ryan is a fashion designer. He leads a team that is responsible for designing activewear for a number of famous labels. His workday starts once he boards the subway into the office, reading a long list of emails that were sent overnight from factories in Asia. He scans his inbox, deciding which will be of highest priority when he arrives at the office; which can wait and be added to a to‐do list; and which he can ignore after reading. Upon arriving at the office, he meets team members to review their current designs. During that 30‐minute meeting, he is interrupted to answer questions regarding pricing for an upcoming meeting with a large buyer. They need clarification on three points and it cannot wait. He shifts his focus from the planning meeting with his team to focus on the points for the presentation to the buyer. He answers the questions and continues the planning discussion with his team. The meeting with the designers concludes with more discussion needed later to finalize their next steps.

It is now 10:30 and he has more emails waiting for him, many of which are follow‐ups to the emails he read on his commute and to which he has yet to respond. He once again prioritizes those emails and decides which need immediate attention. In the meantime, a call from one of the sellers asks him if he has any feedback on their most recent proposal to another buyer. “It is not the nature of the work or the job, it is just the massive amount of information ...