Avoiding information overload

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If you believe that top executives need to be on top of everything, you may be setting yourself up for a gigantic information overload. In the McKinsey Quarterly, Derek Dean, an alumnus of McKinsey & Company, and Caroline Webb, principal in McKinsey's London office, say that plain old delegation is as important with information as with any other task. They point to Gary Loveman, chief executive officer of Harrah's Entertainment, who says: "Keeping current on what is going on takes a lot of my time, but I only engage in depth personally on those issues that are best served by my involvement and are critical to the company's performance, either now or in the future." They suggest you may want to refuse to respond to any e-mails you are cc'ed on. You should also consider educating the people around you about what ought to fill your time.