It’s all relative… Over the course of my 22 years of consulting, I’ve consulted with well over 250 associations. And in that same time, I’ve probably spoken with an additional 1,000 or more. And one thing that still makes me chuckle is when someone says something along the lines of “We’re a small association” or “We have …
Eliminate to optimize So much of data management is habit (both good and bad) which is why I love James Clear’s Atomic Habits. Implementing better data management habits can help you improve the quality of your data. Here’s another quote from Clear that applies to data management: “More effort is wasted doing things that don’t matter than …
For data governance, ask “Why?” Recently I’ve had the opportunity to work on several data governance projects with clients. I always find these projects fascinating because of the breadth of data associations collect. It never ceases to amaze me (in a good way!). One of my big takeaways from these projects is that it’s critically important …
More on Meetings I’ve written before about the importance of making sure your meetings are an effective use of everyone’s time. Teena Whittenhall from Protech Associates shared these two gems with me that I heartily endorse: A meeting without an agenda is called a “waste of time.” A meeting without documented action items will have …
Action produces momentum Another great quote from James Clear: “Motivation often comes after starting, not before. Action produces momentum.” One of the greatest obstacles to cleaning up data, or choosing a new AMS, or establishing good business processes (or absolutely anything else) is getting started. And the best way to get started is to just …
My #1 Best Practice… A client recently asked me: “If you had to pick a single best practice for data management, what would it be?” Without thinking, I blurted out: “Don’t be stupid.” What I meant by that is too often we are our own worst enemies when it comes to data management. We make business rules that are …
Encourage engagement with prizes! One of the biggest challenges any organization faces when implementing a new system is user adoption. It’s difficult to get users to engage and make significant changes in their behavior, and user adoption is probably the single most important key to success with a new system. So to address that issue, one …
Inertia One definition of inertia is “to remain unchanged.” My sense is that many association processes, projects, or programs are the result of inertia. That is, the process, project, or program was begun with all the best intentions, but years later, it continues because no one has really asked the question: “Should we still be doing this?” Actual examples …
When’s the “least bad” time? When working with clients on a new project, especially a new system launch, the question is always asked, “What’s the best time to do this?” And after a long discussion about all the possible dates and how none of them will really work, I usually suggest “How about we find …
A poor launch can set the stage for YEARS It is not uncommon for me to get a call from a prospective client and hear something like: “We launched a new AMS last year, but it was a rushed implementation. We never really got things right from the start and now everyone is unhappy.” Too often, …