Take action...
"The greatest wisdom not applied to action and behavior is meaningless data." - Peter Drucker
This is my favorite quote about data. As I always tell my clients, "Don't collect data you're not going to use." And by "use," I really mean "take action on." Putting the data into a report and saying "Isn't that interesting?" is not really using it.
So I was pleased to see this quote come across my transom:
"Life rewards action, not intelligence." - James Clear
This is a great rephrase of Drucker. You can be super-smart (i.e., have all the data) but if you don't take action, there is no reward.
So whether it's the data in your association database or the data of your life, are you acting on it? Or are you just "collecting interesting information"?
Wes's Wednesday Wisdom Archives
Baby Steps
One of the keys to developing good data management habits is to be aware of […]
Success Requires Discipline
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Take a moment to be grateful
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KPIs and Dashboards
I saw DJ Muller from MemberClicks speak on KPIs (key performance indicators). In his session […]
Documenting Process is Critical
When it comes to managing data successfully, process is critical. For example, a client of […]
Motion vs. Action
In James Clear’s book Atomic Habits (I recommend it!), he discusses the concept of motion vs. action. […]
Are You Answering Your Calls?
I’ve written about this before, but apparently I have to keep repeating it. If you’ve […]
Who do you trust?
Who Do You Trust I was reading an article recently about Warren Buffet’s “rules” for […]
Set benchmarks to measure progress
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.
A client of mine recently wrote the following to me: “It’s so hard to set […]