Eyes wide open and affirmative decision-making When I work with my clients on any type of project, whether it’s selection of a new system or improving data management within the organization, I always emphasize one thing: When we make decisions, we want to make them with eyes wide open. What I mean is this: Any […]
Honoring an industry legend I’m taking a break from my usual data management tips to acknowledge the passing of an industry legend. Last week, Loretta DeLuca, CEO of DelCor, passed away. For those of you who didn’t know Loretta, she was the CEO of DelCor, an IT consulting firm, that has served the association market for
Never burn a bridge My children have reached the age where they have, or are, entering the professional workforce. One of the (probably too many) pieces of advice I give them is to never burn a bridge. For those who don’t know, “never burn a bridge” means (per AI) “never take an action that would
You CAN compete with the big guys… In my experience, associations often undersell their actual ability to provide high level service to their members and customers. I often hear association staff say “We can’t compete against the huge budgets of giant for-profit companies.” But I think it’s important that we keep in mind that even
Join (or start) your users group! Today’s message is simple: If the AMS you’re using has a users group, you should join it and be active in it. If they don’t have one, start one on your own! (Click here for tips on how to do that.) On an almost weekly basis I’m reminded of
They don’t care, until they care. One of the more common questions I get from my clients is “How can we keep contact info up to date on our members, especially when they change jobs?” My (glib) answer is always the same: “Your members don’t care about you or even think about you…until it matters
Longfellow and data management “We judge ourselves by what we feel capable of doing while others judge us by what we have already done.” – From the novel Kavanagh by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow And what does that have to do with data management, you ask? The first half says “we judge ourselves by what we feel capable
Do you really need all that historical data? A question I’ll often get from my clients as they’re making the transition from one AMS to another is “How much historical data do we need to convert?” My preferred answer is always “None.” The easiest data conversions are those with the least amount of data. But
AI actually requires thinking “I don’t think AI introduces a new kind of thinking. It reveals what actually requires thinking.” – Chip Huyen, author of the book AI Engineering. I have very little to add to the current expansive discussion of AI surrounding us, but this simple quote encapsulates an important point. AI won’t replace the thinking
It’s not the mistakes, but how you respond Recently a client was complaining about a bug that had been introduced in the latest release of their software. She was very upset that the bug hadn’t been caught before the release. While I understand her frustration, bugs are a reality of software. The real test here is how the