More Best Practices: Creating and Executing Exception Reports
Here’s a quick (under three minutes) video from me, via TMA Resources, on creating and executing exception reports.
February 2013
Too many choices? That's why you need a consultant
In the book “Switch” by Chip and Dan Heath, they tell the story of a jam sale conducted by gourmet food store. One day, the store put out six types of jam. The next, they put out 24 types of jam. The display of 24 jams attracts a lot more customers, but the display of …
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Everything takes longer than you think it will (especially hiring!)
I am, admittedly, an incredibly impatient person. It’s one of the reasons I LOVE the internet; instant gratification. I can get the answer to that question about a movie, or immediately order something I want (from Amazon, natch), without ever having to leave my home (and often without even having to get out of the …
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Why transactional databases don't make good data warehouses
Very often I’m asked by my clients: “Why can’t I get a report out of my database comparing year-to-year data on membership?” And the simple fact is, transactional databases do not make good data warehouses. Transactional databases, by their nature, are dealing with dynamic data. This means the data is changing frequently. Whether it’s something …
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Either you'll test it, or your customers will
During the implementation phase of a new association management system, one of the most critical phases is the testing phase. In this phase, the association develops testing scenarios that staff can run through the AMS, to see if processes make sense, and if we’re getting the results we expect. This is especially critical for any …
How NOT to apologize…
We all make mistakes in our work. As the old saying goes, it’s not the mistakes you make, it’s how you deal with them after the fact that matters. Last week, I received an email from Carefirst BlueCross BlueShield (my health insurance provider) telling me that my insurance policy had been canceled. There was no …
Did you expect them to just KNOW how to do it?
I was once on a tour of a plant where conveyor belts were being manufactured. I noticed that one of the machines had several people standing around it, and the machine did not seem to be working well (if at all). I asked the tour guide what was going on, and she replied “Oh, we …
All choices involve trade-offs
The economist and political writer Thomas Sowell once wrote: “There are no solutions, only trade-offs.” What Sowell means, of course, is that every decision we make in life involves a trade-off. Choosing to ride the bus, for example, involves giving up some freedom of choosing your own route as the driver. In exchange, the bus …