Data doesn’t need to be perfect to be useful

Data doesn't need to be perfect to be useful

"Your data doesn't have to be perfect to be useful." - (Borrowed with permission from Intellidata's Slice newsletter.)

In my experience, many associations hold themselves back from cleaning up their data, because they are overwhelmed with where to start, and they also think success can only be achieved if the data is perfect. The thinking goes: since there's no way to get to perfect data, there's really no reason to start.

But it's clearly not true. The data you have now isn't perfect, nor will it ever be. But if your data is "pretty clean," it can be very useful.

So don't let perfect be the enemy of the good. Continue working on keeping your data as clean as it can be. It will never be perfect, but it will still be useful.

Wes's Wednesday Wisdom Archives

Just because you can…

January 20, 2021

Just because you can… In response to a recent Wednesday Wisdom on averages hiding the […]

Always ask “Why?”

January 13, 2021

Always ask “Why?” Little kids ask “Why?” all the time, because they are sponges for […]

Averages hide the extremes

January 6, 2021

Averages hide the extremes I can’t remember where I first heard it, but “averages hide […]

Look up PARTIAL names!

December 24, 2020

Look up PARTIAL names! Train your staff to do look ups on partial names, not full […]

Not Just Technology

December 16, 2020

Not Just Technology There was recently a discussion on the ASAE online community about project management […]

Consider quitting

December 4, 2020

Consider quitting Patient: “Doctor, it hurts when I do this.” Doctor: “Then stop doing that.” […]

There is nothing so permanent as business rules

November 25, 2020

There is nothing so permanent as business rules Nobel Prize-winning economist Milton Friedman said, “There’s nothing […]

Budget for feature discovery and adoption

November 18, 2020

Budget for feature discovery and adoption When developing a budget for implementation of a new […]

Customize staff pages for better user adoption

November 11, 2020

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

November 4, 2020

Don’t ask questions for which you already know the answer I was recently completing an […]

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Scroll to Top