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This is the time of year when everyone is making resolutions and setting goals for 2014. By far, the most popular goals tend to focus on fitness. Why? Because people are obsessed with the way they look. It’s just the way the world is today. Many focus on bulking-up, getting shredded or just maintaining their physique. The same goals and principles can be applied to Information Governance. How so?

BULK UP

There is so much education at our fingertips today surrounding Information Governance. So, there is no excuse to not understand its meaning. Here are some ways to bulk-up in 2014:

1.       Get Certified – In my opinion there are three leading courses that can propel an information professional to the next level.

• ARMA IGP (Information Governance Professional) Certification – a person who receives this designation demonstrates that he or she has the strategic perspective and the requisite knowledge to help an organization leverage information for maximum value while reducing costs and mitigating risks associated with using and governing content. The exam consists of 6 competency domains: Managing Information Risk and Compliance, Developing IG Strategic Plan, Developing IG Framework, Establishing the IG Program, Establishing IG Business Integration and Oversight, Aligning Technology with the IG Framework.  For more info http://www.arma.org/r2/igp-certification/domains

• AIIM CIP (Certified Information Professional) Certification - A person who receives this designation will be well positioned to help their organization manage and control content across the enterprise. The exam consists of 6 domain areas across the spectrum of content and information management including but not limited to Information Governance, Records Management, Social Media, eDiscovery, Cloud Computing and Information Capture. For more info http://www.aiim.org/Training/Certification

• AIIM Information Governance Practitioner Designation – this course is designed to ensure the effective and efficient use of information in achieving organizational goals. The course content is applicable across all industries, and is independent of any particular technology or vendor solution. It consists of 10 modules focusing on information management, information governance components and information governance technologies and instruments. For more info: http://www.aiim.org/Training/Certificate-Courses/Information-Governance#modules

2.       Attend Webinars, Seminars, and Conferences – There is an overabundance of educational opportunities each and every year. And 2014 will be no different. Most webinars are free and provided through industry leading software and consulting companies, non-profit organizations, etc. Most are offered during lunchtime, so why not make it a goal to listen to one information governance focused webinar per week. You’re only sacrificing 52 hours per year!!! If you’re like me and prefer face-to-face interaction, plan to attend seminars and conferences in 2014. Here is a preliminary list of events that I plan to attend this year. Which events are you attending?

• Legal Tech NYC – February 4-6
• ARMA International IGP Prep Workshop in Hartford, CT – February 7
• Microsoft SharePoint Conference in Las Vegas – March 3-6
• ARMA NYC Spring Seminar – March 11
• AIIM International Conference in Orlando – April 1-3
• ARMA Houston Spring Seminar – April 22-23
• ARMA CT Information Governance Workshop – May 6
• MER Conference in Chicago – May 19-21
• ARMA North East Leadership Conference in Boston – TBD
• ILTA Conference in Nashville – August 17-21
• ARMA International Conference in San Diego – October 26-28

3.       Read…Read…Read – I think you get the point. We all have a computer, smartphone, tablet or some other electronic device. The topic of Information Governance has exploded across the internet. Go ahead and Google the word “Information Governance”, and see how many articles and blog posts there are from which to choose from. If you have a twitter account (by now everyone should), search under the hashtag #infogov, I guarantee you will be reading for hours. So, why buy a book, when there’s so much “free” information!!!

GET SHREDDED

Information Governance enables defensible disposition. Keep your organizations “lean” and “clean” by following through on your document retention policies. The end of the calendar year is most organizations trigger for disposing of information that has reached its retention requirements. So make sure you “SHRED” your information. 2014 may be the year for your organization to invest in a 3^rd party software application to automate the process and thus eliminate end user involvement in the disposition process.

3 Benefits of Defensible Disposition of Information

• Reduce Storage (physical and electronic content)  and Other Operational Costs
• Reduce Legal Fees in connection with eDiscovery
• Reduce Risk Exposure

The bottom line is“SHRED THE FAT”.

MAINTAIN

Maintain your zeal for information governance and records management. Don’t give up!! Maybe at your organization you are not getting the respect you deserve. Perhaps no one is listening to your strategy or ideas on managing and controlling your organizations information. In most organizations, the CIO looks to IT to make the information management decisions. In my opinion, this is one of the biggest mistakes an organization can make. Why? Because IT doesn’t care about managing information, they care about servers and infrastructure. I believe that 2014 is the year of the NEW RECORDS MANAGER.  Start the year off right by making a list of your goals for 2014 and sharing them with your boss. It just might be your ticket to finally getting your seat at the table.

MY FINAL THOUGHT….

Be obsessed with Information Governance in 2014. Be a sponge and take in as much information as you possibly can. Don’t keep all the knowledge you gain to yourself, share it with others in your organization. Remember BSM in 2014….BULK, SHRED, MAINTAIN.

What are your #InfoGov Goals for 2014?