BeyeNETWORK - The Global Vision for BI and Beyond

Information Stewardship: Giving IQ – and Happiness!

Published: November 8, 2006

Everyone in the organization must accept accountability for their role in the planning, design, creation, maintenance and use of information for the well-being of the larger organization.

As we approach the holiday season and a time for giving, it is an appropriate time to reflect on the concept of stewardship and its ramification for information quality. Stewardship is a very real form of giving. Stewardship is “the willingness to be accountable for the well-being of the larger organization by operating in service of, rather than in control of those around us,” Peter Block reminds us (Stewardship: Choosing Service Over Self Interest, San Francisco: Berett-Koehler, 1993). We are good “stewards” when we perform work in a way that benefits our internal and external “customers” (the larger organization), not just for ourselves or our department. Stewards understand how others depend on their work products and work to provide work products that meet their needs.

Information stewardship, then is, “the willingness to be accountable for a set of business information for the well-being of the larger organization by operating in service, rather than in control of those around us.” The original use of the term steward means one who had accountability for managing something that belongs to someone else. As an enterprise resource, the enterprise – or the shareholders who own the assets of the enterprise – also “own” the information assets. Therefore, managers and staff are stewards of the information assets and must plan, acquire, maintain and apply information for the well-being of their information customers, investors and other stakeholders.

Everyone in the organization must accept accountability for their role in the planning, design, creation, maintenance and use of information for the well-being of the larger organization. The larger organization can include both the organization as a whole and the “extended organization” that includes the suppliers, customers and end-consumers of the organization’s products and services, as well as the communities impacted by the organization.

Take a moment and try to visualize, “What would my organization be like if everyone in the organization embraced the stewardship mind-set of being accountable for his or her role in information for the well-being of the larger organization by operating in service rather than in control of those around them?”

What would it be like if:

• Systems developers insisted on fully understanding the information needs of all downstream information consumers, assured that all data was clearly defined and incorporated all information requirements into the application specification before they started development?
  
  
• Information resource management staff assured that information models incorporated all information requirements and that databases were designed so they were directly shared by all applications with only additive changes and not destructive changes caused by inadequate model design?
  
  
• Business managers sought out their downstream stakeholder managers who depended on information their own staff produced to understand their information quality requirements so they could improve their processes so that they met or exceeded them?
  
  
• Business subject experts volunteered eagerly to be accountable to assure data had complete, correct and clear definition so information producers and consumers never misunderstood the meaning of information?
  
  
• Information producers consistently met the expectations of their downstream knowledge workers?
  
  
• Knowledge workers applied their information in ways so that they really knew and delighted their external customers and end-consumers, and, in so doing, increased customer lifetime value?
  
  
• External customers and end-consumers flooded your customer care unit with letters of commendation, instead of complaints?

Now, ask yourself, “What can I do to help make that stewardship culture happen?”

You have more influence than you may realize. Reach out to those within your scope of influence. Listen to them and understand their information needs. Hold yourself accountable for giving quality information to your "information customers" to enable them to work more effectively. Empowered by not having to do as much information scrap and rework, they can then improve their information for their customers.

You just may create an epidemic of quality! No vaccination necessary. 

What do you think? Let me hear at Larry.English@infoimpact.com.

If you found this article helpful and would like to receive the latest insights each quarter from Larry English and other experts featured on the BeyeNETWORK, please subscribe to the Information Quality Newsletter.