Positive change is harder to see

Positive change is harder to see

Humans are wired to see negative change because we need to protect ourselves; a negative change is seen as a risk and a danger. Positive change is much more difficult to see; there's no risk involved.

Think about it this way: When there's a negative change with your data (e.g., a board member's email address is incorrect), it is a problem, everyone knows about it, and often we rush to fix it. When there's a positive change (e.g., all the board members' email addresses have been updated and are now 100% accurate), we rarely notice, and it's even more rare that we say anything about it.

This is why I recommend that data managers practice database public relations. Because positive change is much more difficult to see than negative change, we have to make a proactive effort to highlight all the positive change going on around us.

Wes's Wednesday Wisdom Archives

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Discipline is required

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Action is required

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Action is required Over my many years of consulting, one thing I’ve noticed about many associations …

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Are all your processes frictionless?

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Are all your processes frictionless? I’m not a huge fan of buzzwords, but I love …

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Trends don’t need perfect data

September 27, 2023

Trends don’t need perfect data When it comes to analyzing data trends (changes in data …

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Start with “Why” before you move to “How”

September 20, 2023

Start with “Why” before you move to “How” Something I’ve noticed over my years in …

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The power of users groups!

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