Shirts are easy

On the way home today I popped into a favorite store. I got lucky, found a couple of shirts I loved, I took them home. Easy.

I’m no fashion guru, but this seems a workable method for maintaining a wardrobe: Look around, see what's out there, grab what you like.

The same method would be a nightmare for home improvements. Head over to the Home Depot and see what's available. Pick up a few new windows, an in-floor heating system, maybe a solar panel or two.

What's the difference?

Partly, it's a matter of cost. If it turns out I don't like the shirt, then my loss is a whole lot less than if it turns out I don't like that in-floor heating system.

But the bigger issue is complexity. My wardrobe is not a tightly integrated system. It's a bunch of separate pieces that mostly align with a personal style. That new shirt is easily replaceable with any other shirt in my closet.

A house, on the other hand, is a tightly integrated system. That in-floor heating system needs to be matched to my flooring, my foundation, my electrical system, and any number of other systems in the house. Buying it is a commitment to ensuring it integrates properly with a bunch of other systems.

Here's the thing:

Unlike your wardrobe, your CRM system is a tightly integrated system. Components that don't play well with each other will create unexpected problems.

And that means all of the components: The core CRM, third-party extensions from the extensions directory, custom extensions you may have commissioned, your training, your documentation, your policies and procedures, and your organizational structure and working style.

When you get an idea to acquire or replace one of those components — whether it's because you saw someone else using it, or read about it in a blog post, or just got a wonderful idea and thought it would be fun to try — it's worth thinking about how that's going to fit in with the other components.

Imagine finishing a complete DIY remodel of your master bathroom — with that fancy heated floor — only to realize that you need to rip up the floor again. No fun, right?

It's no fun in your CRM either.

All the best,
A.