Winning the World Series

How do you win the World Series? Implementing good [data] governance is a lot like winning the championship, whether World Series, Super Bowl, Stanley Cup, US Open... It's a big goal accomplished through thousands of smaller ones. It's also similar to achieving Level 5 on the CMMI.
Let's take a look at how to win the World Series and see if we can learn anything about how to implement governance.
The first thing to recognize is that it takes an entire season--it isn't done in only a couple of weeks in October.
It takes the cooperative efforts of an entire organization.
Management must find and hire the right set of talents and abilities.
Coaches must turn the collection of talents and abilities into a team.
Each person must have the desire to excel as a part of a team.
Each person must come to share the vision of Winning The World Series.
Leadership must emerge to keep the vision in front of everyone.
We must win today's game (over and over again).
I must become a baserunner (if a batter) or keep the batter from becoming a baserunner (if in the field). I recognize that I won't succeed all the time but that doesn't keep me from wanting to succeed every time. Winning today's game means winning more of these smaller contests than I lose.
In order to win the small contests, I am prepared. I practice, I consult coaches, I talk with my teammates. I cultivate the knowledge as well as the abilities required.
I choose equipment that fits my needs.
I learn to win the contests in my own environment and in foreign environments.
I cultivate personal and team consistency.
When all of these things are done consistently and well, we find ourselves with at least the opportunity to win the World Series when October finally arrives.
What jumps out at me in all of this is the need for planning, preparation, patience, desire and commitment. I'm sure that no one out there believes that a governance implementation can be launched and completed in a few weeks. How long do you think it should take? Months? Years? Decades? Since their is no finite season or schedule to constrain us, maybe the best answer is that it will take as long as it takes.
That said, it seems incumbent on us to decide how we'll know when we have completed the task we have set for ourselves. I realize this seems self-evident and trivial but as I visit with people and groups I have developed the impression that the stable state is still undefined. What that means is that we are eternally implementing when we should be improving.
In the absence of another definition of the stable state, I have offered two principles for that state:

1. No [data] pollution and
2. No nasty surprises

Since these represent a whole series of contests, each of which we are committed to winning, while understanding that we won't win them all, another important property of the stable state is that it embody learning and self-modification (improvement). When we have created the property and the principles, we will have "won the world series". The next step is to understand the contests that make up "today's game" and equip ourselves physically, mentally and emotionally to win those contests.

Today's problem is that we are losing contests that we don't even know we're involved in. There's an old poker adage that says "If you look around the table and don't recognize the sucker--it's you." In [data] governance terms, if we look around and don't see the loser--it's us.

Coaching

It occurs to me that many people probably don't understand what coaching is or how they might benefit. Since I am advertising myself as a data management coach, the first task in marketing myself may be to do some education on what should be expected from a coach and differentiate coaching from consulting.

If your only exposure to coaching is youth activities or watching your favorite team on TV you may have an idea that coaches call the shots, that they direct, and are to be obeyed. Nothing could (or should) be further from the truth. My job as your coach is to understand what your capabilities are (as well as those of your "team") and to use that knowledge to help you find ways of attacking your goals that are likely to lead to success.

You might also have developed the idea that coaches are cheerleaders and that one of their main jobs is motivation through exhortation. Again, not true. While I will be quick to affirm strengths and celebrate success, I will not create unrealistic expectations. A coach's goal is to help you to understand the most effective ways at your disposal for addressing the problems and challenges that will confront you.

A youth soccer example will illustrate. If you are fast and by nature aggressive, you can succeed as a defensive player by attacking the ball and taking it away from your opponent before they have a chance to score. If you are not the fastest player on the field and are a bit passive or hesitant, you can still produce a good result for your team by merely staying between the ball and the goal and delaying your opponent until help arrives or forcing the play out to the edge of the field.

In data management, similar principles can be applied. An aggressive, direct approach may succeed for some while a more calculated and collaborative approach may work better for others. In any case, you will want your coach to be able to help you find the successful path which calls for experience as well as expertise on his part. One of the least appreciated values a coach provides lies not in what you do but in what you DON'T do. Your coach wants you to be successful and will help you avoid situations in which you can't or are unlikely to succeed.

You have knowledge, talent--all the raw materials for success or you wouldn't be where you are. Sometimes what you don't have is time or some specialized expertise and in that case you will want a consultant who can come in and get 'er done. But sometimes this is counterproductive because you won't be able to keep calling the consultant back each time you need a change or repair. If you have some time, a coach may be a better alternative since he will leave you with success strategies and tactics that you can continue to apply.

You want your coach to be at your shoulder, ready to answer your questions but also to be asking you questions continuously to help organize your thought processes. In that sense a coach is more than a teacher and more than a mentor. A teacher will not be responsible for the application of the subject matter. A mentor may be standing by at the end of a phone line. The coach will be there with you.