Be careful with absolutes

Be careful with absolutes

When I speak with clients I try to be careful about speaking in absolutes. I'll catch myself saying things like "The only way you can do that..." or "All associations have this challenge..." The proper way to say this is along the lines of "One of the best ways you can do that..." or "Most associations have this challenge..." Because the reality is that for any "rule" there are almost always exceptions. (Notice I didn't say for EVERY rule!)

Changing how we think and speak about these things is important because thinking in absolutes leads to business rules rife with exceptions. And exceptions are the bane of data management.

Yes, yes, we all have exceptions, and we all have to deal with them. But we don't need to write our business rules to manage to every exception. I've written about the dangers of exceptions many times, but I'm reemphasizing it today because it's so easy to fall back into the exception trap.

So when you hear yourself or others speaking in absolutes ("Everyone does it this way" or "This always happens") be careful about how you react to that and what kind of rules are written as a result.

Wes's Wednesday Wisdom Archives

Painting the Bridge

May 24, 2023

Painting the Bridge According to this article, the Golden Gate Bridge is painted continuously year-round. …

Painting the Bridge Read More »

Maintenance isn’t sexy

May 17, 2023

Maintenance isn’t sexy I remember reading once long ago that one of the reasons our …

Maintenance isn’t sexy Read More »

“Will I still have a job when this is done?”

May 10, 2023

“Will I still have a job when this is done? While working with a client …

“Will I still have a job when this is done?” Read More »

Evolution, not revolution

May 3, 2023

Evolution, not revolution I don’t recall where I first heard it many decades ago, but …

Evolution, not revolution Read More »

The power of the users’ group

April 26, 2023

The power of the users’ group Recently in an online users group forum for an …

The power of the users’ group Read More »

Who is your data evangelist?

April 19, 2023

Who is your data evangelist? I was recently talking with a client of mine about …

Who is your data evangelist? Read More »

Who is your data evangelist?

April 19, 2023

Who is your data evangelist? I was recently talking with a client of mine about …

Who is your data evangelist? Read More »

Ratio of Data to Errors

April 12, 2023

Ratio of Data to Errors One of the elements of a good data governance plan …

Ratio of Data to Errors Read More »

Back to basics

April 5, 2023

Back to basics Over the past couple of years I’ve noticed that some AMS vendors …

Back to basics Read More »

Your people matter

March 29, 2023

Your people matter I’ve written many times about how people, process, and technology have to …

Your people matter Read More »

Scroll to Top