Data management is improvisation
I was listening to a podcast recently featuring TV writer Rob Long. During the podcast he said (I'm paraphrasing) that, in order to be successful, one needs to learn to improvise, because nothing in life ever goes as planned. One of my favorite sayings is, "If you want to make God laugh, tell him what you're doing tomorrow."
And so it is with managing data. No matter how much we plan, whether it's a new system implementation, a new process, or just collecting a new set of data, what we plan and expect and what actually happens are rarely the same. And sometimes they are radically different!
And so we have to learn to improvise. We have to be flexible enough to react to what actually happened, adapt to it, and continue moving forward. After all, we're seeking success, not perfection.
![]()
Wes's Wednesday Wisdom Archives
Don’t miss this year’s DAN Science Fair!
Don’t miss this year’s DAN Science Fair! I’m taking a break from my weekly tips […]
Just start. And it’s never done.
Just start. And it’s never done. Last week I had the opportunity to lead a […]
Don’t ask if you’re not going to answer!
Don’t ask if you’re not going to answer! In the past week, on three different […]
Seek forgiveness rather than permission
Seek forgiveness rather than permission “Seek forgiveness, not permission.” I can’t remember when I first […]
Is a 360 degree view necessary?
Is a 360 degree view necessary? “A 360 degree view of our members should NOT […]
Why data matters
Why data matters I write about data because managing our data effectively will help us […]
It’s about process
It’s about process I’m in the midst of adding an AI agent to my website […]
Data integrity reports
Data integrity reports I speak and write a lot about data integrity reports. So I […]
The most important training tip
The most important training tip I’ve been sitting in a lot of database training sessions […]
Be careful about getting tangled
Be careful about getting tangled “We had done a lot to tangle ourselves up.” – […]
