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

Start small

April 28, 2021

Start small When I work with my clients on projects that involve measuring member engagement, […]

Some context, please

April 21, 2021

Some context, please A pet peeve of mine: A report about associations (e.g., marketing benchmarks report) where […]

Eventually automated emails get ignored

April 14, 2021

Eventually automated emails get ignored During the discovery and development phase of implementing a new […]

The challenge the AMS providers see

April 7, 2021

The challenge the AMS providers see Over the years I’ve asked AMS providers what they […]

Be careful about “solutioning” too quickly

March 31, 2021

Be careful about “solutioning” too quickly One of the great things about software developers is […]

What’s our next action?

March 24, 2021

What’s our next action? As you can imagine, I spend a lot of time in […]

Don’t automate for the sake of automation

March 17, 2021

Don’t automate for the sake of automation I’m the laziest person in the world. I […]

Don’t forget about what got better

March 10, 2021

Don’t forget about what got better Negativity bias is the tendency to focus on only […]

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 […]

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published.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

Scroll to Top