In January 2007, Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney was preparing to leave office and make his first run at the Presidency. Legally bound to provide the state’s archives with documents and other materials accumulated during his term, he and his staff boxed up and delivered some 700 cubic feet of content – none of it electronic, organized, or even labeled.
Did the Governor do what he was supposed to? Absolutely! Was it the right thing to do? Depends upon whom you ask.
As a politician with national aspirations and a healthcare reform legacy likely to repel a sizeable portion of the electorate, he may have had no qualms about making it difficult to reconstruct communications or audit how decisions were reached – so for him, it was right.
But for those seeking true transparency, the result clearly was unsatisfactory – a jumble of information that literally could take years to categorize and analyze. (According to the Huffington Post story that triggered this post, Romney’s emails were “printed out and stuffed into cartons,” thereby destroying any sense of continuity or comprehensiveness.)
This tale perfectly illustrates what can happen in any organizational setting no matter what the good intentions. Creating records retention policies is but the first step, and must be followed immediately by a thorough examination of any potential loopholes. Otherwise, anyone resisting the need to better document and archive records may take liberties without actually violating the rules – a turn of events that is especially repugnant to prosecutors and sitting judges on the other end of your ediscovery activities!
Want a fresh eye on your policies or possible loopholes? Just drop me a line and I’ll be glad to provide some perspective!