Records Management Resolution Idea for 2012: Defeat the Status Quo

Doing what “we have always done” is often a very safe bet – until it is too late. No organization can afford to ignore innovation, customer trends, competitive pressures, the voters or shareholders, or the “boss.” Eventually we are all held accountable for the decisions and changes we make or don’t make. In our personal life, this takes the form of diet, exercise, education, etc. In our professional life—especially within the Information Management and Security sector—the crossroads we face daily involve risk, service turnarounds, and customer satisfaction. These areas are not what most of us would call “exciting” and “fun” tasks, would we? Despite the lack of glamour, the Information Management decisions we make have big impacts on our organizations. For example, a privacy breach could not only cripple an organization; another company may seize a competitive advantage by being able to harvest key customer data from the very same type of information. Whether you are minimizing risks or maximizing rewards, how we cope with change may ultimately determine our success or failure. The idea of overcoming obstacles in order to defeat the status quo and achieve something better is a hot topic among today’s thought leaders. In his book the War of Art, Steven Pressfield identifies the naysayer within us as the “resistance” that keeps us from doing what we long to do. Another thought provoking author, best selling Seth Godin, blogged a list of Signs We are Defending the Status Quo when we are confronted with a “new idea.”

Here are a couple of reactions that people have when confronted with a new idea, and what you can do about it: Reaction to a new idea: Embrace an instinct to accept consistent ongoing costs instead of swallowing a one-time expense? Focus on short-term costs instead of long-term benefits, because the short-term is more vivid for you? How to change: Change comes at a cost whether it is economical, emotional, and how we spend our time, but in the long run, it can be well worth the resources. However, how often do we stifle change because the investment is not measured at all or alongside a long list of benefits over a reasonable amount of time? Why not invest today to save big over time? Reaction to a new idea: Compare the best of what you have now with the possible worst of what a change might bring? Exaggerate how good things are now in order to reduce your fear of change? Grab onto the rare thing that could go wrong instead of amplifying the likely thing that will go right? How you can change: “What is the worst that could happen?” is meant to be an empowering, thought provoking question to point out that there is not that much that could/would go wrong. But how often does this “worst thing” become a paralyzing fear that prevents us from taking a chance to break through to a higher level of success. Taking an honest look at the “real” today may help us consider more “what ifs” and take some chances. If we are not truly evaluating how a system is working, we may be blind to opportunities to really improve. Check out Seth Godin’s list to find out if you are defending the status quo.

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Taking Control of Inactive Records with Corodata

Properly labeling and tracking inactive files, and moving them safely offsite, can save your company space, time and money; remove the threat of losing documents; providing easy retrieval of files when needed, and set your reputation as a secure company.

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