Be concise!
I started a monthly newsletter almost 25 years ago (which I recently discontinued). And almost six years ago I started writing these "Wednesday Wisdom" missives. I've received more compliments about my Wednesday Wisdom in six years than I have for my monthly newsletter in nearly 25 years ago.
Why? Because these missives are concise. They focus on a single, simple point. And as a result, they're "easier" to read than my longer monthly columns were.
Several readers have said some variation of "I know I can read this right away as opposed to setting it aside to read later, which I know I won't do." (One reader even told me: "Yours is the only newsletter that I don't immediately delete.")
What's this got to do with data management? Ultimately, everything we do involves communication. How we communicate with our members. How we communicate with our software vendors. How we communicate with other staff. That includes the data we collect and the data we use.
If we can be more concise in all of these communications, we're more likely to get our message across to whomever it is we're communicating with.
I've already gone on too long! Be concise.
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Wes's Wednesday Wisdom Archives
Consider quitting
Consider quitting Patient: “Doctor, it hurts when I do this.” Doctor: “Then stop doing that.” […]
There is nothing so permanent as business rules
There is nothing so permanent as business rules Nobel Prize-winning economist Milton Friedman said, “There’s nothing […]
Budget for feature discovery and adoption
Budget for feature discovery and adoption When developing a budget for implementation of a new […]
Customize staff pages for better user adoption
Customize staff pages for better user adoption The single most important element to data management […]
Don’t ask questions for which you already know the answer
Don’t ask questions for which you already know the answer I was recently completing an […]
All decisions involve risk
All decisions involve risk Whether it’s choosing a new AMS or introducing a new product […]
Try flowcharting your processes
Try flowcharting your processes Working with a client recently on their membership join process reminded me […]
“I just want a system I don’t have to fight with.”
“I just want a system I don’t have to fight with.” I asked my client: […]
Inertia Contributes to Bad Data
Inertia Contributes to Bad Data Without knowing anything about your organization or its data, I’d […]
What are you doing with new contacts?
What Are You Doing with New Contacts/ I was very interested to read in a […]
