Today is Haarsin Consulting Ltd‘s second anniversary.
Kind of.
More accurately it is the second anniversary of incorporating my company with Companies House here in the UK.
Back in 2023 I was still a full time student at the University of Aberdeen. I’d returned to studying after a career in the oil and gas industry (or ‘energy’ if you will) and I was planning my company go live / open for business date for February the 1st the following year.
So a bit like royalty Haarsin Consulting Ltd has two birthdays a few months apart.
In the subsequent four years since I was my former role became redundant I have gone on to meet many people, visited many interesting places and I have been both discovering and learning.
A lot.
I still have much, much more to find out, however.
I’m well aware that no one person can know everything… it’s just not possible. Anyone who claims to have all the answers is, in both my personal and professional opinion, either deluding themselves and therefore wrong… or they’re possibly lying to you.
So here’s one for the books: I am a management consultant who does not claim to have all the answers.
I do enjoy finding things out, however, and since my stock in trade is information I want to help you get the answers you and your organisation deserves.
“But what do I mean by information?” you may ask.
Good question. Damned good one, truth be told.
Depending on your context ‘information’ can mean any and all data, knowledge, documents, records and systems to create, process and protect information.
That’s what may be called the International Organization for Standardization or ISO perspective.
If you want to take a more library & information or knowledge management science view then information can be any output (in any format) that is a result (or product) of sorting, analysing or putting data and knowledge into context.
Similar, but it is still open to a degree of interpretation.
Where it gets really fun is when you find out that there is no universally agreed or standard model of what information and its management actually looks like.
And that’s a big part of the problem… I find it all interesting because from my perspective information is the bridge between data and knowledge and back again.
Fun fact: the company logo is a stylised bridge which represents data, knowledge and information.
They support your own journey from where you are now to where you want to get to.
After two years I am still finding it a challenge to articulate the value Haarsin Consulting Ltd can bring to others.
I know this because a number of people have said as much (you know who you are and I thank you for it)!
This is really good feedback as it helps me aim to refocus on the message I am trying to champion:
- Information has value
- It should be treated appropriately
- I want to help you do that
There’s lots of things you can do with information. For example it can be:
- Created / discovered
- Received
- Transmitted
- Secured
- Revised
- Archived or otherwise disposed of
Whether you gain insights through your own analysis, share information between peers and stakeholders or buy it in as a resource ‘as is’ it has taken time, effort and money to be brought about.
This is a large part of the principle that I strongly believe in: that information should be valued and treated accordingly.
Then of course there’s an almost endless variation on handling information types and compliance: regulatory, industry, professional, organisational…
Where does it all end?
If you’re ever not sure, then I’d love to help you find the answer.
Now I’ve suspected for some time that perhaps I am getting in my own way.
I find information governance, the holistic approach to treating information appropriately, interesting because information – however one defines it – is a broad topic indeed. There’s always something more to know and that is of interest to me.
See also: lifelong learning, continuing professional development etcetera.
This week I was at a lunch and learn titled ‘Strategy for success‘ and both of the speakers content resonated with me.
Two years ago I had some theoretical knowledge, twenty years of industry experience and a business plan… but I didn’t have the context I needed to really begin to understand.
I know that I never will know everything (see above!) but what I do want to know is what prospective clients really need.
So it’s back to the drawing board, have a bit of a think and then onwards and upwards.
