“Many mickles make a muckle.”

"Many mickles make a muckle."

"Many mickles make a muckle." - George Washington

Apparently, this was an old Scottish saying (and a favorite of George Washington's) that means "things add up." Over time, many little things can become big things.

This is absolutely true when it comes to managing data. Many little decisions and actions we take will have large and long-term effects on the quality of our data.

As I discuss here, your data is either getting better or getting worse. There is no stasis. Every little positive thing you do (e.g., cleaning up that record you just opened that was incorrect, periodically asking members and customers to check their contact info, making sure you have good documentation, etc.) adds up over time.

There is no one magic wand to improving the quality of your data; it requires lots of little steps over time.

After all, many mickles make a muckle. And who am I to argue with the father of my country?

Wes's Wednesday Wisdom Archives

Give a little at a time rather than taking away

March 3, 2021

Give a little at a time rather than taking away I’m sure there’s research somewhere […]

First, you gotta have the data

February 17, 2021

First, you gotta have the data When I work with clients on a new AMS […]

Work on your relationship with your AMS vendor

February 10, 2021

Work on your relationship with your AMS vendor It is no coincidence that my most […]

Dashboards for Data Integrity

February 3, 2021

Dashboards for Data Integrity I’ve written a bunch on data integrity reports. (Click here for […]

Next-to-Nothing Goals

January 27, 2021

Next-to-Nothing Goals I saw a Ted Talk by Christine Carter recently discussing the concept of […]

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 […]

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published.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

Scroll to Top