10 May 2011
Healthy Disrespect
Photo from http://www.care2.com.
About three years ago, I walked into an absolute train wreck of a project. I’ve seen my fair share of disasters, but this one was in a league of its own. Call it RRC here. Consider that RRC had:
- major data quality and integrity problems
- nothing close to a master record on its employees
- significant M&A activity within the past four years, exacerbating the first problem
- poor or nonexistent documentation on past data conversion efforts and existing and past policies
- a great deal of employee turnover
Because of these restrictions, conducting an analysis based upon a change in overtime policy was a Sisyphean effort. (To boot, RRC hired another consulting firm for the same project whose newbie consultants did little but ask basic questions and honestly just get in my way.)
Upon taking the project, I asked, “How did things here spiral out of control as much as they did?” I also wondered out loud, “Weren’t their key opportunities for RRC to identify problems–and solve them?”
Crickets.
In fact, there always are such opportunities. However, organizations often miss out on these windows to take hard looks at things. A partial list includes:
- reorganizations
- the implementation or upgrade of a new system
- changes in leadership
- M&A activity
- audits–and shocking results
- government regulations
However, it’s downright wrong to claim that organizations can only make major changes when confronted with these inflection points. I would soon learn that no one at RRC had what I call a healthy disrespect for the organization’s current data management practices–or lack thereof. The result of years of neglect and ignorance: data chaos.
Embracing Dissent
Particularly at more senior levels, newly hired employees should bring with them a sense of skepticism and curiosity when they see something that doesn’t make sense. While I don’t condone rudeness and premature judgment, you can go too far in the other direction. Obsequiousness isn’t helping anyone. There may be reasons that an organization set up its systems, IT infrastructure, and applications in a certain way. However, that doesn’t mean that that way continues to make sense.
Of course, often employees with a sense of skepticism and curiosity can irritate the powers that be. Sometimes, as I know from personal experience, the most politely phrased question about why things are they way the are is bound to evoke a critical, even scathing, response. More than a few VPs and CXOs have things set up they way that they like them. Since many of them are close to retirement, rocking the boat is the last thing that they want to do.
Simon Says
With rare exception, data management practices tend not suddenly break bad. More often than not, a gradual erosion in governance (if it ever existed) takes place over a pronounced period of time. Encourage current and prospective employees to question things that don’t make sense. You’ll find that problems are found and fixed sooner.
Feedback
What say you?
October 31st, 2011 at 7:16 pm
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