Wes’s Wednesday Wisdom

Who is in control? Speaking with a client once about their database project, the client said something I found rather profound: “I want to feel like I control the database, not that the database is controlling me.” There’s a lot going on in that statement, and there are a lot of elements that affect whether […]

Sometimes staff has to do the work… As a child, I was attracted to computers because of the games. As a young professional, I was attracted to computers to make my life easier (because I’m inherently lazy!). So when I work with my clients, I love to automate as much as can be automated. But sometimes

Documentation and the Great Resignation Unless you’ve been living under the proverbial rock, you’ve heard of the Great Resignation. (If not, just google it; 2.47 BILLION results…) It’s possible that your own organization has been hit by it. The immediate effect is that you’ve got even fewer staff to help with the everyday work that needs to

Data Management Strategy Do you know what your data management strategy is? If you have one written down, congratulations! If you don’t, well I have news for you: that IS your data strategy. You have a data strategy, whether you know it or not. It’s your choice as to whether it was created actively or passively.

It’s always about trust When I work with clients on almost any data management project, a very common theme is one of trust. Or more specifically, a lack of trust in the data that’s in the primary system. This is reflected in the way staff talks about the data, very often saying things like “I

You can’t outsource buy-in One factor consistent with all of my most successful projects is that there is strong buy-in from staff. That is, the staff works very diligently to ensure the success of the project. They allocate the needed time, they learn what they need to know to be successful, and they execute on

Use it or lose it! I’m referring here to the data you collect. If you are collecting data that you’re not actually using (and I bet you are!), stop collecting it, and clean it out of your database. Almost every client I’ve worked with has identified data in the database that is no longer being used. Often

“If I could only do one thing…” Managing data throughout your organization can be overwhelming. Do you have the right people in place? Do you have the right technology? Do your processes make sense? My clients often ask me: “If I could only do one thing to improve my data management, what should it be?” My

Gratitude As Thanksgiving in the US approaches, I’m reminded of the importance of gratitude, in life, and yes, in data management. I’m grateful for the amazing advances in technology over my career for many reasons, but here are just a couple of examples: Back in the mid-90s, I managed a staff of six individuals who were

“It’s more than I have, but less than I want.” “It’s more than I have, but less than I want.” These are words uttered by a client of mine recently when looking at new data management software for their organization. There is some deep truth in both parts of that sentence: “It’s more than I have…” Obviously