ANITA WARDCEO, SIGNATUREWARE CORPORATION

ARMA LAS VEGAS OCTOBER CHAPTER MEETING

THE COOL KIDS ARE IN VEGAS

WHY AREN’T THEY TALKING ABOUT US?

ANITA WARDCEO, SIGNATUREWARE CORPORATION

MY RECORDS MANAGEMENT

RANT

IMAGE AND BRANDING

Everyone wants cool technologyBut like a bad episode of Friends, this new

world of technology is a cozy chat over lattes with no controls

Image and brand are based on perception: Cool freedom vs. structured control Openness vs. compliance Socks vs. SOX James Dean vs. the Cops

The profession of RM has changed, now the perception must change too JT … Bring Sexy Back

A STRATEGY MODEL

THERE IS A PENALTY FOR LONGEVITY

Must re-think basic tenets or they become blocks to progress

Records managers are accustomed to thinking of themselves as belonging to a new discipline whose value is just being recognized

REALLY? In the 6th century The Emperor Justinian said,”

Let your Eminence give orders throughout each and every province that a building be erected in which to store the records …

THE BRAND CALLED YOU

WHAT IS THE BRAND?

What is the brand perception?

ComplianceControlsDivorced from day-to-day businessCost CenterOverly complex … enterprise StandardsFOIA, SOX, Data Protection ActMonolith

If the brand was a character, who would it be? A car? A color? A single word?

THE BRAND CALLED YOU

WHAT CHANGE IS THE BRAND EXPERIENCING?

CHANGE ONE: The Nature of the Record

Definitional perspective: Records are the evidence we leave behind from the transactions we carry out. Definition is several decades old, but is the accepted rule. A record is recorded information, regardless of physical form or characteristics, created in the

course of an institution’s business

What is the record? What is evidence? In a collaborative, open world, RM no longer manages individual objects with finite life-spans. In

the collaborative new world, RM manages links, threads, conversations, and contexts. A powerful global conversation is underway. People are discovering and inventing new ways

to share relevant knowledge with blinding speed … markets are getting smarter and faster than most companies. These markets are conversations. They are genuine. They are human.

Definition implies that a record must be tangible which is confusing in a digital world … fluid, manipulable, decoupled from physical format, transitory

Electronic records yield greater challenges The nature of the conversation is inherently seditious, undermining centralized authority. Google Wave … everything is geared around content … email, blogs, wp, dpcument … all are

inconsequential …what matters is content and the conversation it represents Higher customer expectations Accessibility challenges

Traditionally, RM professionals have made the distinction between information and records Is this really the best perspective, or just the easiest?

The distinctions have blurred considerably.

In contrast with the records definition, information is more than evidence. Drucker” data endowed with relevance and purpose The use of information is what makes it important

People and behavior need to be at the center of both discussions

CHANGE ONE: The Nature of the Record

Brand implications New definitions lead to new ideas Information has been re-conceptualized and is thought of as

equal in importance to people and financial assets The output of collaboration is a business transaction, or

evidence of one Even as an end in itself, collaboration requires some controls

to work effectively: authentication, versioning, access control, audit trails …

Knowledge and information management have “intellectual curb appeal” – embracing them as segments of the RM discipline expands the brand and offers brand halo. Convergence will present synergistic results. Without convergence, the “seductive” technologies will displace the “less glamorous”. Similar goals … make accurate, relevant info available when

and where needed. KM literature generally ignores records … calling them “explicit knowledge” … dismissive.

CHANGE ONE: The Nature of the Record

CHANGE TWO: The Role of Paper

We are almost there … the Holy Grail … the paperless office

Unfortunately, this is a behavior change and HUMANS LOVE PAPER(so do RM professionals)

WE CREATED IT.

WE ENSHRINED IT.

WE REPRODUCED IT.

WE MISS IT WHEN IT’S GONE.

CHANGE TWO: The Role of Paper

In a paperless world, RM professionals need to develop new frameworks and enter new discussions EDM and RM will increasingly become a part of the underlying

infrastructure with an even greater degree of automationRM cannot dismiss the Web 2.0 world as “information”

The perception of records as static, recorded, tangible, created, tied to a format (costs)

This contrasts significantly with electronic information that is changing, updating, refreshing, instantaneous (revenue)

This is not about technology but rather about behavior Why does an individual worry about classification schemes and

descriptive metadata when they have Google and Accutag? Why should someone worry about retention policies when storage

is so cheap?

CHANGE TWO: The Role of Paper

Brand Implications The world is changing fast. Strategically positioning RM for the future reinforces

its relevance. Links RM to organizational benefit, not just cost RM needs to assume a higher profile in the

organization, or senior management will focus elsewhere as the business pressures arise.

CHANGE THREE: RM Systems

RM technology and systems are all about “big thinking” Size and scale are overwhelming Everything must be transformed

Due to their size, the enterprise systems have homogenized the solution (RM one-size-fits-all)

“If it is a mess to begin with, then it will be a mess at the end”

The rest of the world has shifted to widgets Simple specific applications designed to solve specific problems RM has been looking at the problem from the wrong end of the

telescope Organizational vs. individual perspective Need small solutions that solve specific problems

CHANGE THREE: RM Systems

Brand Implications Enterprise systems will reinforce the unwieldy

perception of RM. Small focused solutions will demonstrate the agility

and benefit of RM

CHANGE FOUR: Models of Work(ers)

HUMANS DON’T HELP THE SITUATION! Worker behaviors must be accommodated by RM strategies.

ME – protectionism, isolation, hierarchy, walls, single data repositories, standalone applications

Unilateral ME – Push-based sharing, knowledge as needed, closed communities, structured teams, semi-permeable walls, shared repositories, channeled communication

TeamME – team focused, shared repositories, knowledge seekers, closed communities, limited networks, cross-team collaboration, intranets, extranets, groupware

ProactiveME - Push/pull 24/7. network, extended enterprise, semi-automatic collaboration, personalized web, portals, dashboards

BilateralME – Proactive community building, knowledge management, collective intelligence, strategic collaboration, open source, social networking, information management/taxonomies

WE – social, profiling, virtual teaming, collaborative content development

EnterpriseME – transparency, participative, mass customization, agility, strategic collective intelligence

CHANGE FOUR: Models of Work(ers)

• Brand Implications • RM professionals can reposition

themselves as allies to HR and IT.• Records are language and at their core

reflect humanity and behaviors. • New skills for RM professionals contribute

to individual growthGround is shifting and new skills are necessaryManagement, teamwork, communication, sales

• New services can emerge

Anita Wardanita@signatureware.com

(702) 332-7961