Spin is the process of selectively interpretting a situation in a biased way, in order to drive a particular agenda. When a particular data measurement value or trend is not well defined, in business or government, this can be particularly dangerous. This is because such spin drives decisions based upon one perception of the world, when in fact another reality may be actually occurring. For a particularly troubling example, consider this alternative view of the current economic situation. For another, consider the many financial institutions that maintained excellent credit ratings, despite large portfolios of Subprime lending.

The underlying elements which enable such spin are:

• insufficient configuration management of the scope of the situation being evaluated
• not enough clarity regarding accepted definitions for measurements
• lack of discipline in the underlying means of collecting the measurements themselves
• unwillingness to communicate the variation inherent in the measurements themselves
• incomplete understanding of the underlying basis of measurements

All such elements, and their effects, are prone to mischief. Such spin may be helpful to selected stakeholders in the short term, but destroys trust in the long term, and significantly reduces the ability to take preemptive action before an acute situation evolves into a crisis. It is one reason the evidence-based management approach is gaining traction, and is so important to promote and apply.

Too often, projects run along, until someone does an assessment. Then there's a panic, and fire-fighting to clean things up. Such adjustments are rarely easy, and frequently short-sighted. How much better is it when things are put in place, the right way, up front?