What Counts?

2022 Episode 37 – Do you have a document management problem or an asset data management problem? If your organization is not able to accurately trace the business case for capital investments backwards to its original purpose, funding, and design you may have an asset data management challenge. The age of an asset does make it harder to keep track of all the records, but it’s not an excuse for not...

2022 Episode 36 – Your project champion network is one of the most vital components to successful implementation of an […]

2022 Episode 36 – Your project champions are one of the most vital components to successful implementation of an information governance project. As noted in this episode, project champions are typically senior-level leaders in your organization. Therefore, use their time wisely and keep them involved in carrying a consistent company message back to their teams. Project champions understand informa...

2022 Episode 35 – This episode points out three key steps to achieving organizational change and using your champion network effectively. This is What Counts, by TrailBlazer Consulting, LLC, a podcast for the information and data governance do-it-yourselfers. Want to grab your audience’s attention without sending emails or doing more training? Give a listen to this episode to find out how. In this...

2022 Episode 34 – Using training to implement change management seems logical. What type of training best fits your organization’s learning style? What kind of training is available; who is your audience; how do you gauge impact; is more better when training for change? These are all good questions that will be answered in this episode regarding achieving successful training to help improve your c...

2022 Episode 33 – This is our fourth episode in a series on using change management to help improve your chances for successful information governance project implementation. Today, we talk about using your project plan as a communication tool to connect with your stakeholders at every stage of a particular project. In this episode, Maura Dunn and Lee Karas discuss how your project plan should be...

2022 Episode 32 – This is our third episode in a series on using change management to help move your information governance projects forward. We continue our conversation with Donna Vitalie to uncover creative ways to implement change management and understand the “why” and “how” to do change management. In this episode, Maura Dunn, Lee Karas, and special guest Donna Vitalie talk about using push...

2022 Episode 31 – This is our second episode in a series on using change management to help move your information governance projects forward. Today, we welcome Donna Vitalie to the conversation to help give us an understanding of this important tool in your toolbox. In this episode, Maura Dunn, Lee Karas, and special guest Donna Vitalie define and discuss change management (CM), organizational de...

2022 Episode 30 – This is the first episode in a series on change management approaches we have used to implement successful information governance projects. Remember back to Episode 3. That’s where we discuss our process for developing assessment questions and how to hone in on data management challenges. In this episode, we discuss linking what you learned during the assessment to refine your ch...

2022 Episode 29 – Monitoring progress, showing immediate impact, and keeping stakeholders engaged is an important part of project status reporting. In this episode, we discuss a few ways for measuring and monitoring project progress, as well as, celebrating key victories along the way. Maura Dunn and Lee Karas discuss in this 16:51 episode a few important real-time progress reporting suggestions f...

2022 Episode 28 – Hey, who was that person that worked on the customization of XYZ software? Who was the vendor that made the decision to fill in the requirements gaps during the implementation process? It is a substantial risk to any organization not to plan for the knowledge transfer process when taking on large-scale projects. Documentation is key to the knowledge transfer process, but what els...

2022 Episode 27 – Taking a risk management approach to project planning. Thinking through large-scale risks and assigning cost to those risks will help focus resource allocation in your project plan. Does this approach add more time to the planning process? Is it worth assessing all these risks upfront? Decide for yourself after listening to this episode where we share our experience developing pr...

2022 Episode 26 – Internal and external key resources to have on your team to get your information governance (IG) projects completed. From IT to Legal, but more importantly, the business side of your organization. Maura Dunn and Lee Karas discuss how selecting the correct key resources to have on your team will dramatically increase buy-in and commitment for implementing your information governan...

2022 Episode 25 – In this episode, we discuss developing a detailed project plan for implementing your information governance projects. From simple to complex projects, learn certain activities and tasks that you should build into your project plan that will help prepare stakeholders and better communicate project timing and milestones. Listen as Maura Dunn and Lee Karas discuss how to document th...

2022 Episode 24 – In this episode, we discuss business case development for moving your information governance initiatives forward through your internal process. We include areas where you can find hard and soft costs to use in your return on investment calculations. Listen as Maura Dunn and Lee Karas talk about building your information governance business case, including areas to perform efficie...

2022 Episode 23 – In this episode, we talk about our approach to information governance projects resulting from your information governance roadmap and taking into consideration high risk areas and high-level business strategy. Listen as Maura Dunn and Lee Karas talk about three to five year information governance projects and how to avoid the pitfalls of point solutions. Learn more by visiting ou...

2022 – In this episode, we break down information governance initiatives into phases to strategically span multiple years and show actionable progress along the way. Listen as Maura Dunn and Lee Karas talk about the importance of establishing the appropriate phases for your information governance initiatives so that activities get accomplished, resources are shared, and budget is not wasted. Learn...

2022 – We work with organizations to develop an information governance roadmap to illustrate, at a high-level, how they can go from current state assessment to an improved information governance program end state. Listen as Maura Dunn and Lee Karas discuss how to develop a multi-year roadmap/plan that will help guide and track your information governance implementation progress. Learn more by visi...

2022 – How to use a visioning discussion to determine your information governance program’s near, mid, and long-term goals. Listen as Maura Dunn and Lee Karas discuss the best way to setup, prepare, and lead a visioning discussion for your information governance program. Learn more by visiting our website, or by sending TrailBlazer an email at info@TrailBlazer.us.com. TrailBlazer Consulting, LLC,...

Business process redesign may be in store for organizations storing records in 3rd Party repositories, SharePoint sites, file shares, or e-mail. It may be best to initiate a business process redesign to drive employees to use the organization’s systems of record. Listen as Maura Dunn and Lee Karas talk about the most common records storage locations that organizations use and the risks associated...

Workarounds and manual processes can lead to serious risk for your organization. Two specific risks are discussed in detail in today’s episode. Look out for these specific workaround risks in your organization and learn what to do to keep your organization compliant. Listen as Maura Dunn and Lee Karas talk about information governance risks that they have found working at different client organiza...

Information governance risks and solution selection – not a trivial task. Reviewing the list of top risks found after performing an information governance assessment can be overwhelming. Finding a solution to address more than one risk can be a daunting task. In this episode, Maura Dunn and Lee Karas discuss some of the top risks that they have encountered at client organizations and how to select...

This is the final part of this three (3) part series that pertains to a valuable tool called an Enterprise Information Map (EIM). An Enterprise Information Map provides a comprehensive view of all of the information systems throughout your organization and how they interact. In this episode, we discuss how to use the EIM to dive deep into your organization’s systems to support strategic objectives...

This is part two (2) of a three (3) part series that pertains to a valuable tool called an Enterprise Information Map (EIM). An Enterprise Information Map provides a comprehensive view of all of the information systems throughout your organization and how they interact. In this episode, we talk about the beginning steps for creating an EIM and building a basic system profile. Every information gov...

This three part series pertains to a valuable tool called an Enterprise Information Map (EIM). An Enterprise Information Map provides a comprehensive view of all of the information systems throughout your organization and how they interact. An EIM catalogues what systems your company uses, records how information is stored within those systems, and shows how information moves across your organizat...