Learn how to lose

Learn how to lose

“Winning is great, sure, but if you are really going to do something in life, the secret is learning how to lose. Nobody goes undefeated all the time. If you can pick up after a crushing defeat, and go on to win again, you are going to be a champion someday.” - Wilma Rudolph, Olympic champion

And here's the thing about data management. Your data (to some extent) always has errors. And chances are good, your system doesn't do everything you think it should. It's even possible it doesn't do what your vendor promised it would do!

There is always going to be some disappointment, some challenge, some "loss." What matters, as Rudolph so eloquently states, is how we respond to those challenges.

If you really want to be successful managing your data, acknowledge all that is or can go wrong, and work through it.

Wes's Wednesday Wisdom Archives

Don’t forget, your staff have day jobs…

February 18, 2026

Don’t forget, your staff have day jobs… The vast majority of my work is finite […]

Beware the automated “How did we do?” trap!

February 11, 2026

Beware the automated “How did we do?” trap! One of the downsides of technology is […]

Hindsight is 20/20

February 4, 2026

Hindsight is 20/20 I’m currently working with a client that is moving from their legacy […]

Cheaper now; costlier later.

January 28, 2026

Cheaper now; costlier later. Most of my clients are very cost-conscious, understandably. After all, who […]

The unified shopping cart: Dreams vs. reality

January 21, 2026

The unified shopping cart: Dreams vs. reality One of the more common requests I hear […]

Don’t forget to celebrate!

January 14, 2026

Don’t forget to celebrate! Truth be told, I’m not a big celebrator. (Maybe it’s because […]

Three thoughts on duplicate records

January 7, 2026

Three thoughts on duplicate records Duplicate records are a reality in any database of any size, […]

Please don’t do this…

December 17, 2025

Please don’t do this… I’ve noticed a trend among online retailers that I want to […]

AI is perpetually patient

December 10, 2025

AI is perpetually patient My friend and colleague Noel Shatananda of fusionSpan was providing me some […]

User adoption is (almost) all that matters…

December 3, 2025

User adoption is (almost) all that matters… I was speaking with an association recently about their […]

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