The ease with which anyone on your team can create a spreadsheet is ostensibly a boon, but in reality, it undermines the reliability of the information leading to a toxic corporate culture with detrimental ripple effects.

The Hidden Cost

If anyone can spin up a spreadsheet to manage their team or department, then everyone will. If everyone has a spreadsheet then you will never be able to explicitly trust the information on any of them. This is why it’s customary in the music industry, a heavy abuser of spreadsheets, to rely on text threads, email chains and breakout meetings to confirm release dates, review checklists and align the team. 

But these disruptions come at a severe cost. Discontent, anxiety and the inability to do deep focused work in a state of flow during the day, to name a few. This self-perpetuating cycle has solidified overcommunication as the accepted norm, infecting culture at your company and the broader industry.

The Solution

But there is a path to redemption – the adoption of a relational database system. In a relational database information exists in one single place and can be displayed in an infinite number of interfaces depending on its use case.  By organizing data in this way you ensure accurate, reliable information access for every team member. Furthermore, restricting edit permissions to specific personnel reinforces this trust, allowing employees to confidently act on the data they access autonomously without the need for it to be confirmed by anyone else in the company. This concept is referred to as a Single Source of Truth. 

The Reward

In this environment of assured trust and streamlined operation, efficiency and satisfaction soar. Employees work fast and innovate, unburdened by disruptions. The cultivation of a focused, uninterrupted workflow fosters productivity, happiness and a thriving corporate culture.

In Conclusion

The hidden cost of spreadsheets is steep, draining trust, time, and focus. By transitioning to a Single Source of Truth model made possible by a relational database tool like Airtable you're positioning your company to dominate the competition.