Sometimes It’s the Least Bad Choice

Sometimes It's the Least Bad Choice

Just like in life, sometimes when we're making technology or management decisions, we're faced with few good choices. And very often I'll tell my clients, what we're looking to do is make the "least bad" choice.

For example, during a new system implementation, the vendor will ask for "blackout" dates, dates where we know staff won't be able to focus on the implementation because their "real jobs" will be too busy. Common blackout dates are around annual meeting time, annual renewal time, and other programs that require many or all staff to be involved.

When discussing blackout dates with my clients, I'll often hear "We're busy all year round." It is those times when I suggest "Then let's find the least bad time to do this."

No situation, no solution, no time is ever going to be perfect. Sometimes it's easy to see the best choice, but often it comes down to making the "least bad" choice. Get comfortable with that.

Wes's Wednesday Wisdom Archives

Data doesn’t need to be perfect to be useful

March 4, 2026

Data doesn’t need to be perfect to be useful “Your data doesn’t have to be […]

Don’t just clean data, clean reports and queries

February 25, 2026

Don’t just clean data, clean reports and queries One of the reasons I exhort my […]

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 […]

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published.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

Scroll to Top