A while back I mentioned that I was going to try to write a book. Well, I’ve started it at last. Between losing my job and spending time at the cabin I’ve not really been motivated or focused. I’ve been spending my time looking for work, but also enjoying rural life at my cabin. I have also found that this writing thing is a lot harder than it looks. Anyways, here’s a draft of the introduction to my as yet untitled book of PHIGs. Let me know what you think.
I used to think that people were an organization’s most important resource, but I don’t think that’s the case any longer. You see, some things have changed over the years: 1) Organizations put more time and effort into making sure they have the right information than whether or not they have the right people; 2) Missing key information causes more consternation than when a key person is missing (vacation, prison, dead, etc.); 3) Organizations will happily jettison people they think are no longer required, but hold on to useless information for eternity; 4) Organizations don’t pay the people that manage information nearly enough.
If a person unexpectedly leaves their job the organization copes and moves on. If key information vanishes right before a planning cycle … different story. So why do organizations suck so bad at managing information like the asset it is? I don’t know and I’m not going to try to figure it out. This book is more about helping organizations stop sucking at managing information. As for better pay for information management people … fight your own battles people.
What is Information Governance?
Information governance is all the rules, regulations, legislation, standards, and policies with which we need to comply when we create, share, and use information. Governance is mandated internally and externally. Done correctly (i.e.: holistically), information governance allows organizations to conduct business better and meet all their information related obligations while minimizing risk. Done incorrectly (i.e.: in a silo’d manner), information governance may help organizations met obligations and reduce risk, but business efficiency is sacrificed.
Why do Information Governance?
“We can find everything we have, we just don’t know if we have everything we’re supposed to find.”
The above was a statement made by a director at my first ever Enterprise Content Management gig in 2006. Back then I don’t think the idea of Information Governance (IG) went far beyond IT security and perhaps Service Level Agreement (SLA) management. Even today, IG is not really thought of in an holistic way, applied to managing all aspects of an organization’s information assets.
In order to make the most effective and efficient use of information, it needs to be properly managed and governed from cradle (creation / capture) to grave (destruction / archiving). Holistic information governance makes organizations info-efficient by providing the means to keep what’s needed and legally dispose of what’s no longer necessary. Holistic information governance results in faster, better decisions, reduced information related risks, reduced ediscovery costs, and reduced information storage costs.
Principles of Holistic Information Governance
The first thing you need to understand as you read the PHIGs is that no distinction is drawn between records and non-records. From a business execution perspective the difference is irrelevant, from an evidentiary perspective it’s minimal since any information you have can be used against you in proceedings.
Whether the information is structured, semi-structured, or unstructured (there`s no such thing) makes no difference. Format and storage location are similarly unimportant to the PHIGs, as are the devices (personal or corporate) used to create or edit the information. The only thing that matters is whether or not the information is needed by the organization to either conduct business or meet obligations.
The PHIGs are really based on understanding how an organization uses information to conduct business. Understanding has to happen at the micro (department, process) level and at the macro level to be truly useful. Not all information is equal for all organizational stakeholders; therefore it cannot be governed the same way across the entire organization.
The PHIGs are not an information approach to information governance; they are a business approach to information governance. The intent of the PHIGs is to help organizations analyze their information assets and apply the right level of governance based on how the information is used / needed to conduct business.
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Can’t wait until the book’s finished Chris. Go for it!! The intro certainly whets my appetite.
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Thanks, Eldin. I’m looking forward to spending more time on writing the book and seeing how it takes shape.
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So far so good! You might be creating an end to your employment dilema. This book could be a very useful tool for explaining the IM process to corporate beginners!
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Maybe it turns into a cottage industry for me. 🙂
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I am glad you’re taking this on…Good luck!
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Thanks, Monica.
You say that know, but just wait until I start charging people money. 🙂
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Hi Chris great start!
I heard a talk by a novelist a bit back who said the first three months of her writing time are spent mostly looking at the walls while the book takes shape in her head. So maybe that is what is happening in your cabin!
Totally agree with you that there is no point distinguishing between records and non-records. Distinguishing between stuff you can safely get rid of and stuff you can’t is useful. Distinguishing between stuff you can share across the organisation and stuff that needs to be locked down is also useful. But the record/non-record thing is a bit academic. Everything is a record of something.
It will be interesting to see your book develop – its nice to read an information governance book that makes me laugh as well. Hope there is space for a few of your drawings!
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I really hope you laugh at the parts that are intended to be funny. Yes, the book will include some of my “artwork”.
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Great start, guess the cabin environment may just be the most fertile ground where a great book on IM emerges.
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Good work Christ, i cant wait to put my hand on this. Keep up the good work …
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WOW, great start and no catch phrases like ‘business imperative’, ‘game-changing’, ‘win-win’ or ‘value added’ (but for how long…). Keep it up.
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I’m shifting paradigms, reaching for the next level, and writing outside the box.
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