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
Not Just Technology
Not Just Technology There was recently a discussion on the ASAE online community about project management […]
Consider quitting
Consider quitting Patient: “Doctor, it hurts when I do this.” Doctor: “Then stop doing that.” […]
There is nothing so permanent as business rules
There is nothing so permanent as business rules Nobel Prize-winning economist Milton Friedman said, “There’s nothing […]
Budget for feature discovery and adoption
Budget for feature discovery and adoption When developing a budget for implementation of a new […]
Customize staff pages for better user adoption
Customize staff pages for better user adoption The single most important element to data management […]
Don’t ask questions for which you already know the answer
Don’t ask questions for which you already know the answer I was recently completing an […]
All decisions involve risk
All decisions involve risk Whether it’s choosing a new AMS or introducing a new product […]
Try flowcharting your processes
Try flowcharting your processes Working with a client recently on their membership join process reminded me […]
“I just want a system I don’t have to fight with.”
“I just want a system I don’t have to fight with.” I asked my client: […]
Inertia Contributes to Bad Data
Inertia Contributes to Bad Data Without knowing anything about your organization or its data, I’d […]
