Data in a Dangerous Time: The Modern Approach to Managing Data, by Merrill Albert
Your guide to data management, data governance, and data quality—written for professionals who are ready to leave outdated methods behind and build a smarter, more resilient data foundation.
Roadblocks
The Wheel
What is Your Data Strategy?
Leading Practices for Managing and Governing Data
Creating This Thing We Call Data Management
Maintaining Data Management
Common Data Management Problems
Signs You Have a Data Management Problem
Quantifying Data Management
Who’s in Charge?
Data in Real Life: Just Give Me Templates!
Data in Real Life: Thwarted by a Spelling Mistake
Data in Real Life: Missing You
Data in Real Life: Data is not Static
Data Governance in One Word
How to Build a Data Governance Organization
Sizing a Data Governance Organization
Rightsizing Data Governance
Tips for Data Governance Success
Data Governance Pitfalls
Goldilocks, The Three Bears, and Data Governance
Collaboration in Data Governance
The Data Governance Charter
Policies, Processes, and Standards
Data in Real Life: Don’t You Forget About Me
Data in Real Life: The Data Governance Roadshow
Data in Real Life: A $400 Million Reason
A Data Model is More Than a Picture
Source-to-Target or Target-from-Source?
Product Design
Hierarchies
Data in Real Life: Standing in the Dark
Data in Real Life: Not a Duplicate
Data in Real Life: The Post-It Solution
Data in Real Life: Bathroom Logic
What is Metadata?
Working with Metadata
Data in Real Life: Peanut Butter
Data in Real Life: Valuing a Qualifier
Data in Real Life: Keep the Data Model Together
What is Data Quality?
Working with Data Quality
I Found a Data Quality Problem
Common Data Quality Problems
Data in Real Life: Is It Recalled or Not?
Data in Real Life: Let’s Fix ALL The Data
What is Data Privacy?
Working with Data Privacy
Data in Real Life: Getting to the Root
Data in Real Life: Humans Will Get Us Every Time
Working with Data Retention and Destruction
Data in Real Life: Don’t Convert Me
Data Management Roadmap
Data Management Task List
In today’s AI-powered world, your data can be your greatest asset—or your biggest liability.
This is your modern, no-nonsense guide to data management, data governance, and data quality—written for professionals who are ready to leave outdated methods behind and build a smarter, more resilient data foundation. Whether you’re a Chief Data Officer (CDO), business analyst, IT leader, or anyone who works with information systems, this book delivers clear strategies that align data with business goals.
Author Merrill Albert brings decades of hands-on experience to this practical playbook, offering actionable insights on how to build data governance, fix bad data, improve data privacy, manage metadata, and navigate complex compliance environments like GDPR and CCPA. You’ll learn how to stop reactive firefighting and start building proactive, sustainable systems that scale.
This data strategy guide covers essential topics, including:
Unlike many business analytics books, this one goes beyond theory with relatable “Data in Real Life” examples—from botched customer records to metadata mysteries—to make complex ideas simple and engaging. You’ll laugh, cringe, and most importantly, learn.
If you’ve been frustrated by slow reports, inconsistent metrics, or failing AI tools, this book helps you identify the root causes—often buried in mismanaged or misunderstood data. Balance an approach that combines technical know-how with organizational psychology, emphasizing that data success is driven by people, process, and only then—technology.
Perfect for professionals seeking to master data strategy, data governance, or enterprise data management, Data in a Dangerous Time is the must-read manual for today’s digital transformation.
Merrill has had the ultimate career of working in data. Starting with a BMath degree from the University of Waterloo, Merrill has worked consistently with companies across all industries to help them better manage their data to drive value from it. Being exposed to a wide variety of companies, Merrill has been able to see the same problems happening time and again, often caused by people not recognizing the value data brings to an organization and what happens when the data is mismanaged. Through education, coaching, and hands-on work, Merrill has been able to share her knowledge with companies to help them better improve their data infrastructure and prevent creating the next data crime.
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