The best choice given the information you have “Hindsight is 20/20” is a cliché because, like most clichés, it’s true. It’s easy to look back weeks, months, or years later at a given action and see what you should have done differently. When I work with my clients on any project, but especially AMS implementation […]
The best choice given the information you have Read More »
Action isn’t the same as progress I’ve written before that not taking action is an acceptable response to a question. That is, sometime it’s better to leave things alone than to try to “fix” them. A corollary to that rule is “Action isn’t the same as progress.” Working with a client recently, they asked me
Action isn’t the same as progress Read More »
Start with the end in mind Like so many, I probably first heard the phrase “Begin with the end in mind” in Stephen Covey’s 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. It’s incredibly powerful advice, especially when an organization is converting from one AMS to another, or is adding a new process to an existing system. During
Start with the end in mind Read More »
It’s quiet in here…maybe TOO quiet… One of the truisms of data management is that there is no stasis; either your data is getting better or it’s getting worse. (More about that here.) A corollary to that is that if things are “too quiet” there’s probably something wrong. Put another way, if you’re not working
It’s quiet in here…maybe TOO quiet… Read More »
It’s ALWAYS about expectations The headline reads: “Tesla sets record for vehicle deliveries, an increase of 40% over a year ago.” This is great news, right? I mean, they set a record! But not so fast. The next sentence reads: “However, the fourth-quarter numbers fell shy of analysts’ expectations.” Ahhh, “expectations.” They set a record,
It’s ALWAYS about expectations Read More »
It’s hard to get UNangry I often emphasize to my clients the importance of testing and training. When a new system (or new functionality) is rolled out, you have to be sure things have been tested properly (so that it actually works) and you need to be sure staff is trained on how to use
It’s hard to get UNangry Read More »
Some history IS important! When I’m advising clients on data conversion (moving data from one system to another) my advice is always the same: “Convert as little data as possible.” There is one big exception to this rule: volunteer and award history. Almost all volunteer history (and certainly all award history) should be kept, essentially
Some history IS important! Read More »
“Many mickles make a muckle.” “Many mickles make a muckle.” – George Washington Apparently, this was an old Scottish saying (and a favorite of George Washington’s) that means “things add up.” Over time, many little things can become big things. This is absolutely true when it comes to managing data. Many little decisions and actions we take
“Many mickles make a muckle.” Read More »
It’s easy to collect; it’s harder to manage The beauty of today’s highly configurable AMS products is that they make it very easy to collect and store data. But configuring the system is actually the easy part. The “hard” part is ensuring there is a process in place to collect and manage the data and that
It’s easy to collect; it’s harder to manage Read More »
Tell them why you want the data Because data is so easy to collect these days, there’s a tendency to try to collect all kinds of data about our members and customers, in the hopes that “maybe we’ll use that data eventually.” One of the (many) problems with this approach is that our members and
Tell them why you want the data Read More »