What Counts? Podcast
Information Governance Policies: The Three That Matter Most
September 21, 2026 · 00:18:15
Why You Need Information Governance Policies
Why do you need information governance policies? In this lightning round of What Counts, Lee Karas and Maura Dunn explain how policy turns records into dependable evidence. First, Maura shows how a written policy sets expectations for your team and for everyone who relies on you. Next, they tackle a hard question: is a policy you ignore worse than no policy at all? In court, it can lead to an adverse inference. Outside court, food recalls and a bank incentive scandal show the same gap between policy and practice. Then Maura ranks the three information governance policies that matter most. They are the retention schedule, legal hold, and electronic communications. Finally, they discuss why Teams, Slack, texts, and even AI prompts create records that need clear rules.
Episode Chapters
00:00 Welcome to the lightning round
00:53 Consistency, and policy versus process
01:32 Why records exist: evidence and compliance
02:39 How information governance policies set expectations
03:55 Because it says so? How policy protects you
05:21 Is an ignored policy worse than none?
06:49 Food recalls and policies nobody followed
09:49 When a bank's incentives beat its policy
10:48 Too many policies, and what matters most
11:00 First policy: the retention schedule
12:01 Second policy: legal hold
13:37 Third policy: electronic communications
16:10 Finally, where AI prompts fit
17:33 Closing and how to reach us
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About What Counts
What Counts is produced by TrailBlazer Consulting, LLC and hosted by Lee Karas and Maura Dunn. Learn more or reach out directly at info@trailblazer.us.com. Explore compliance-ready corporate training programs at the TrailBlazer Learning Academy. Read more from Maura at Maura's Substack. Music by Jason Blake. Full disclaimer.