“Many mickles make a muckle.”

"Many mickles make a muckle."

"Many mickles make a muckle." - George Washington

Apparently, this was an old Scottish saying (and a favorite of George Washington's) that means "things add up." Over time, many little things can become big things.

This is absolutely true when it comes to managing data. Many little decisions and actions we take will have large and long-term effects on the quality of our data.

As I discuss here, your data is either getting better or getting worse. There is no stasis. Every little positive thing you do (e.g., cleaning up that record you just opened that was incorrect, periodically asking members and customers to check their contact info, making sure you have good documentation, etc.) adds up over time.

There is no one magic wand to improving the quality of your data; it requires lots of little steps over time.

After all, many mickles make a muckle. And who am I to argue with the father of my country?

Wes's Wednesday Wisdom Archives

Baby Steps

March 21, 2019

One of the keys to developing good data management habits is to be aware of […]

Success Requires Discipline

March 14, 2019

When it comes to data management, most of us know what to do; we just don’t […]

Take a moment to be grateful

March 7, 2019

Because we’re so focused on always improving what we have now, it’s easy to overlook […]

KPIs and Dashboards

February 28, 2019

I saw DJ Muller from MemberClicks speak on KPIs (key performance indicators). In his session […]

Documenting Process is Critical

February 22, 2019

When it comes to managing data successfully, process is critical. For example, a client of […]

Motion vs. Action

February 14, 2019

In James Clear’s book Atomic Habits (I recommend it!), he discusses the concept of motion vs. action. […]

Are You Answering Your Calls?

February 7, 2019

I’ve written about this before, but apparently I have to keep repeating it. If you’ve […]

Who do you trust?

January 31, 2019

Who Do You Trust I was reading an article recently about Warren Buffet’s “rules” for […]

Set benchmarks to measure progress

January 24, 2019

It’s impossible to measure progress if you don’t know your starting point. This sounds axiomatic, […]

You’ll make incorrect decisions. Acknowledge them and fix it.

January 17, 2019

A client of mine recently wrote the following to me: “It’s so hard to set […]

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published.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

Scroll to Top