Migrated from eDJGroupInc.com. Author: Greg Buckles. Published: 2017-09-17 20:00:00Format, images and links may no longer function correctly.
I am proud of how Texas and Louisiana civilians jumped into the floodwaters to help neighbors, strangers and first responders. This contrasted sharply to how institutionalized disaster relief seems to take longer and longer to deliver effective support where and when it is desperately needed. That is not a criticism of those who have so freely shared their possessions, time and money through charities and other NGOs. Instead, it is a broader professional observation about the potential loss of focus and effectiveness that accompanies the transition of a group effort into an organizational entity. To quote Samuel Butler, “Self-preservation is the first law of nature.” Over time, organizations tend to become more concerned with justifying their growth, budget, authority or other self-interests over the actual goals they were created to serve. So how does this apply to our world of eDiscovery?
Internal committees, support departments, custom technology platforms and service provider relationships can fall prey to the instinct of self-preservation over the greater corporate good. Healthy business processes include regular big picture reassessments that deliver unfiltered reports to executives who are not emotionally invested in their pet projects. I built my first truly self-service internal corporate eDiscovery department while my energy company was struggling with unprecedented public legal challenges. When the storms had passed and I was ready to move on, my execs tasked me with an assessment and recommendations of my own hard built team of veterans. We built an in-house service bureau to meet a discovery demand that no longer existed. I made some hard recommendations and went on to my next challenge.
I am inspired by how good people like the Cajun Navy can step up in an emergency. That does not substitute for disaster planning and preparedness, whether for a hurricane, a shareholder action or a regulatory investigation. But it should help remind us not to cling to outdated technology, protocols or other support entities that have not evolved to meet the new challenges.
Stay skeptical my friends!
Greg Buckles wants your feedback, questions or project inquiries at Greg@eDJGroupInc.com. Contact him directly for a free 15 minute ‘Good Karma’ call. He solves problems and creates eDiscovery solutions for enterprise and law firm clients. His active research topics include analytics, mobile device discovery, the discovery impact of the cloud, Microsoft’s Office 365/2013 eDiscovery Center and multi-matter discovery. Recent consulting engagements include managing preservation during enterprise migrations, legacy tape eliminations, retention enablement and many more.
Greg’s blog perspectives are personal opinions and should not be interpreted as a professional judgment. Greg is no longer a journalists and all perspectives are based on best public information. Blog content is neither approved nor reviewed by any providers prior to being posted. Do you want to share your own perspective? eDJ Group is looking for practical, professional informative perspectives free of marketing fluff, hidden agendas or personal/product bias. Outside blogs will clearly indicate the author, company and any relevant affiliations.