Lewis S. Eisen – ARMA Magazine

Do We Really Mean “Responsibility”?

Written by Lewis S. Eisen on April 7, 2025. Posted in Artificial Intelligence, Change Management, Collaboration, Communications, Compliance, Information Governance, Information Management, Policy, Uncategorized.

To make sure a house is sound, we periodically check the foundation for cracks. When we find one, we need to patch it up, because leaving it in place threatens the stability of the entire structure. What if some of the most fundamental statements...

Five Obstacles to IG Policy Approval

Written by Lewis S. Eisen on September 5, 2023. Posted in Information Governance, Policy, Uncategorized.

In the best circumstances, a well-crafted draft IG policy will sail through an approval process like a ship in warm water with strong breezes. Too often, though, the proposed policy hits an iceberg, which stops it in its tracks. At best, there’s...

IG Policies: What is Good Content?

Written by Lewis S. Eisen on May 8, 2023. Posted in Content, Policy, Uncategorized.

“Can anyone share their policy on…?” Hang around the myARMA community long enough and you’ll see this question pop up time and time again. On …retention …data …privacy …security—you name it, and someone has put out feelers to find a policy to use...

Revisiting Our Views on Non-Compliance with IM Policy

Written by Lewis S. Eisen on June 1, 2021. Posted in Compliance, Featured, Information Governance, Information Management, Uncategorized.

Are we biased when we try to interpret the reasons for non-compliance with information management (IM) policies? Over the past two years, I’ve presented a session titled “Improving Buy-In to IM Policies” to more than a dozen ARMA chapters. We...

Antiquated Policy Wording: Part 4 — The Problem with “Should”

Written by Lewis S. Eisen on April 26, 2020. Posted in Communications, Education, Leadership & Management Skills, Policy.

This is the final article of a four-part series on drafting requirements in IM policies, looking at the problems of using the words “must,” “may,” and “should.” Of the three modal verbs discussed in this article, “should” suffers the worst identity...

Antiquated Policy Wording — Part 3: The Problem with “May”

Written by Lewis S. Eisen on April 15, 2020. Posted in Communications, Education, Leadership & Management Skills, Policy.

This is the third article of a four-part series on drafting requirements in IM policies, looking at the problems of using the words “must,” “may,” and “should.” The word “may” suffers from the same deficiencies as “must,” discussed in Part 2....

Antiquated Policy Wording — Part 2: The Problem with “Must”

Written by Lewis S. Eisen on April 8, 2020. Posted in Communications, Education, Leadership & Management Skills, Policy.

This is the second article of a four-part series on drafting requirements in IM policies, looking at the problems of using the words “must,” “may,” and “should.”(Read Part 1 here.) In traditional policy wording, writers use “must” to indicate...

Antiquated Policy Wording: Part 1 — “Must,” “May,” and “Should”

Written by Lewis S. Eisen on April 1, 2020. Posted in Communications, Education, Featured, Leadership & Management Skills.

This article is the first of a four-part series on drafting requirements in IM policies, looking at the problems of using the words “must,” “may,” and “should.” Part 1 — Overview The traditional use of “must,” “may,” and “should” when drafting...

Good Policy Statements Don’t Micro-manage

Written by Lewis S. Eisen on February 11, 2020. Posted in Communications.

Instructions in a policy statement that amount to micro-management confuse rather than clarify the requirements. I’m sure you’ve seen them – policy statements so detailed that they list the steps required. Take the following example, excerpted...

Have You Considered Tone of Voice?

Written by Lewis S. Eisen on December 5, 2019. Posted in Communications, Leadership & Management Skills.

When we review an old information management policy to see if it needs updating, what do we look for? Too often an organization will revise the operative content but fail to update the tone of voice. Obviously we check for accuracy to make sure...

Author: Lewis S. Eisen