Maintaining the right data on the right people

摘要

"Less is more" is an adage that seems strange in a world that always wants bigger, better and more. But in managing a database, keeping it simple is usually the best strategy. It's not difficult to fill a database with information about companies and contacts at those companies. What is difficult is making sure the information is both relevant and actionable. One of the first things to decide is what type of data to capture. Putting every bit of information about com-panies and contacts into a database just because you can, or think you should, leads to overload and paralysis. You must know what you'll do with the information before you cre- ate new fields in the database for it. Then you won't get bogged down with managing minutiae that have no relevance to the tasks at hand.