In a conversation with a client about their data management needs, the client pointed out that if they lost one or two key staff members, so much institutional knowledge would go with them that the association would have real difficulty managing their AMS.

I recommended that they should document all of their key processes so that if key staff does happen to leave, they'll still know how to run the AMS on a day-to-day basis. (There are other reasons for having documentation, too!)

In this way, documentation is very akin to insurance (like car or life or E&O insurance, not health insurance). Just like insurance, documentation is incredibly tedious, dry, and boring. (Sorry, insurance sales people.) But you need to have insurance in case something happens, and you hope every day that you never actually need it.

The beautiful thing is that these days, with AI recording tools, creating and managing process documentation has never been easier. But it takes a commitment to doing it and maintaining it.

So if you haven't already, get to work on documenting your most important processes. And if you have documentation, make sure it's up to date.