If it's not in the right place, does it even exist?

Scenario 1. You're expecting a package, and you get an email saying it's been delivered. But it's not in the mailbox, and it's not on the front porch.

Where could it be? Oh, the delivery driver put it on the back porch, where nobody ever goes.

Scenario 2. Your teenager borrowed your favorite sweater. She says she put it back in the closet, but it's obviously not there.

Where could it be? Oh, she put it in the coat closet in the hallway, which you almost never use.

Scenario 3. Your team says they spoke with 23 potential donors last week who want to start receiving email updates on your work. But there are no new names in your subscriber list.

Where could they be? Oh, they're scribbled in paper notes on someone's desk and entered into an Excel sheet on someone else's laptop. Where no one will ever find them.

Here's the thing:

If the package is not visible, or the sweater is not in the right closet, or the constituent data is not in the CRM, does it really exist at all?

Maybe in some technical sense it does. A philosopher or a physicist might argue that way.

But in real life, if you can't find it, it's worthless to you.

In practical terms, if constituent data is not in your CRM, it may as well not exist.

All the best,
A.