Wes’s Wednesday Wisdom

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

Don’t forget Parkinson’s Law “Work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion.” – Cyril Parkinson Many of us are familiar with Parkinson’s Law, especially as it applies to meetings. (If you schedule a meeting for an hour, guess how long it will take to cover the agenda?) But Parkinson’s Law also

Just Respond Growing up my father used to tell my many siblings and me that if we showed up to work on time and sober, we’d probably do just fine. I always thought he was joking until I entered the workforce and discovered he was right! You can really stand out if you just show

People fear uncertainty, not change If you’ve ever worked on any big project that was likely to bring about significant change (and what project doesn’t??), you’ve probably heard someone say something like “Our staff is really afraid of change.” But the truth is, people aren’t afraid of change, they’re afraid of uncertainty. How do I