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
Opting out and communication preferences
Opting out and communication preferences Last week’s newsletter discussed the need for associations to collect mobile […]
Are you collecting mobile phone numbers? You should be.
Are you collecting mobile phone numbers? You should be. Are you collecting (and using) the […]
Spend less time on data management and more on higher value activities
Spend less time on data management and more on higher value activities Data management is very […]
Change anything you want, except your name!
Change anything you want, except your name! This is an oldy but a goody, but […]
If you don’t trust your vendor…
If you don’t trust your vendor… When I start an AMS selection project with a […]
Your RFP should go to no more than five vendors!
Your RFP should go to no more than five vendors! As a rule, when I […]
Be concise!
Be concise! I started a monthly newsletter almost 25 years ago (which I recently discontinued). […]
A great example of a data integrity report!
A great example of a data integrity report! A couple months back I discussed the […]
“If you keep doin’ what you’re doin’, you’ll keep gettin’ what you’re gettin’.”
“If you keep doin’ what you’re doin’, you’ll keep gettin’ what you’re gettin’.” I saw […]
Rather than adding something new, try subtracting
Rather than adding something new, try subtracting I read recently that sociological research suggests, when presented […]