Smart Quick Base Governance: Managing the Tribbles

Aug 11, 2017 12:26:19 AM

In 1967, Star Trek aired a famous episode (for Trekkies anyway) called “The Trouble with Tribbles.” In the episode, the Enterprise had a small, fuzzy creature onboard called a Tribble that seemed harmless. Over time, however, the Tribbles began to multiply at an exponential rate. Their rapid growth posed somd30f09d323dccdac566f6720abf2c0aa770e1c4f.jpge very real challenges for the crew which they eventually overcame. You’ll have to watch the rerun so I don’t spoil it, but it’s definitely a fun one.

I’ve always said that Quick Base is a bit like Tribbles. Once you have one application in place that starts to deliver value, you’re off to the races. Overall, that’s a great thing. The more, the better, but you want healthy Quick Base applications that bring on maximum value to everyone. And yet, there can be apprehension and uncertainty about letting go of the reins and letting others be Quick Base builders. Will I lose control? Will they waste their time? How will I manage this? The questions are endless. You know you want it to grow, but you want to make sure it stays effective.

So, how do you achieve that balance? Some of our enlightened customers have figured it out, so we’d like to present a few of their best practices. Bear in mind, these are the clients who have maximized their investment: 

Inspire more building – Don’t be scared to spread the word. The value of tracking and working together has a spiraling return on investment. Don’t be afraid of letting others be creative. Remember that organizations have made incredible impacts by letting go of complete control and trusting what could be.

Create smart Builders – Arm your Quick Base builders with the expertise to do it themselves or know where to get help (like with us), or some combination of the two. We will talk more about what “Smart Building” is in a later blog, but for now, let’s just stick with understanding the capabilities of the tools you are using at a high level. Know that parts of it may need to be rebuilt for various reasons, know your limits, and don't be afraid to seek help.

Track it all – Understand what all your applications are doing and what value they are creating, but make sure there isn’t too much redundancy in what is being built. It’s safer to err on the side of “that’s okay” because you can fix most of it later. Here is where the snake eats its tail…use Quick Base for your governance!

For any business, it boils down to progress, not perfection. Get started helping other teammates or groups see the light (you’ll actually benefit in some way, shape, or form) and create heroes. We’ll explore more about this topic in an upcoming blog that highlights one of those clients.

Richard Crum

Written by Richard Crum

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