In business today, you and your colleagues may have almost unlimited access to information and to people whose expertise can be of use to your projects. Somehow, you will need to negotiate and evaluate a huge stream of information.

General strategies for effective reading (Chapter 7) can help. One such strategy—keeping a clear purpose in mind when you read—is particularly important for work-related reading. Are you reading to solve a problem? to gather and synthesize information? to make a recommendation? Knowing why you are reading will increase your productivity. Time constraints and deadlines will also affect your decisions about what and how to read; the ability to identify important information quickly is a skill you should cultivate as a business reader.