“Listen My Children and You Shall Hear
of the Midnight Ride of Paul Revere”
– Paul Revere’s Ride,
by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Question: what does Paul Revere’s ride have to do with information governance? Answer: it illustrates well that regardless of the success of this or that particular effort, what’s important is that you do something and work with others to get the job done.
Revere is, well, revered, for alerting the good people of Lexington and Concord to the presence of approaching Redcoats. But did you know that he was captured en route and never actually finished the journey? That honor goes to Dr. Samuel Prescott, who had met up with Revere, managed to escape, and rode on to Concord in Revere’s stead.
This success was a function of both men’s commitment to action and to the assembly of a dedicated team. Revere and his associates (who also included one William Dawes) could have worried that “it’s too risky, it’s not my job, what if we’re wrong, blah blah blah” and sat back and done nothing. But they didn’t, and the rest – quite literally – is history.
To be sure, good infogov isn’t as significant to global affairs as Revere’s ride turned out to be. But achieving it requires the same sort of dedication. Getting started necessitates that you do something – do anything – even if you’re not sure precisely how it will turn out. And getting finished demands a cooperative effort of like-minded individuals who believe in a good greater than themselves.
So don’t just sit there – do something!
(And ask me for help if you’re not exactly sure what.)