I'm a problem solver. I love to solve problems. Which is great until it's not.

One trap for problem solvers like me is trying to solve a problem that really doesn't need to be solved. I see this happen a lot in data management, especially as it pertains to creating business rules or trying to automate processes that don't need to be automated.

For example, recently I was working with a client trying to address an issue with chapter management. The organization has over 3,000 chapter members in 50+ chapters, and one issue, in particular, was vexing us. After some lengthy discussion, a staff person mentioned that the issue in question affects fewer than 100 of their 3,000 chapter members. And so it quickly became clear that we didn't need to go to all kinds of trouble to program something in the member portal; for this particular issue, the association would just have the chapter members contact the association directly for help. Done and done.

But we had spent the better part of 20 minutes trying to solve a problem that didn't really need to be solved. And that's the trap we have to avoid.

So early on in any discussion, ask yourself (and everyone involved), "Is this really a problem that needs a solution?" Because the answer might be "no!"