What is a coach?

The word started as a description of a method of transportation. Think stagecoach, or motorcoach (more commonly a "bus" here in the U.S.)

Turns out it's the same in business, as in athletics: a coach is someone who can take you where you want to go.

They don't do the work for you.

But they should be helping you reach your destination in ways you couldn't do on your own.

Of course, deciding where you want to go ... that's up to you.

All the best,
A.

Community works: reCAPTCHA problems fixed

A few of my clients have been having problems with Google reCAPTCHA in the past couple of months.

Apparently Google has changed reCAPTCHA so that it's more strict — which is nice if you absolutely never want a bot on your site, but not so nice if you absolutely want every real person to have an easy time giving you money.

Unfortunately, there are no settings to make it more strict or less strict. It just is what it is, "you get what you get", and all that. This means the only option is either to use it or not use it.

Well, that was true. Until now.

Others in the CiviCRM community noticed this problem as well, and someone out there created a fix, just today, actually.

The Form Protection extension will, in its next release, offer setting to adjust the sensitivity of the Google recaptcha checks.

So if you're getting too many legitimate users being treated as bots, you can make it less strict to compensate.

Likewise, if you're getting too many bots being allowed through as legitimate users, you can make it more strict.

Here's why this is cool:

My clients noticed this problem and had no way to deal with it. They could have paid me to implement a fix, but instead they decided to just disable Google reCAPTCHA for now, and take the “wait and see” approach.

Meanwhile, someone else in the community came up with a fix — at no cost to my clients.

And here's the bigger point:

Sometimes you experience a problem, and it's urgent enough that you're willing to pay to fix it.

But sometimes, somebody else takes care of it, so you don't have to.

That's part of the beauty of open-source software like CiviCRM.

We're all working together. We all help each other. We all benefit.

Not too shabby, right?

All the best,
A.

Don’t be a spammer (or look like one)

Crafting the perfect email appeal is a worthwhile investment.

But when that email lands in your recipient’s Junk folder (or just gets rejected entirely), it’s not worth much.

Big email providers like Google, Microsoft, Apple, and Yahoo are constantly working to protect their users from anything that even smells like spam, and Google and Yahoo have announced specific changes that will make those protections even stronger.

Nobody will make you keep up with those requirements. But if you don’t, you can expect your emails to start landing in the Junk folder more often. (See yesterday’s email for actions you need to take to avoid this.)

Would you like an easy way to test whether your outbound emails measure up?

There’s a free service at mail-tester.com that does just that. It’s not a complete solution (nothing ever is), but its tag-line “Test the Spammyness of your Emails” is accurate enough.

I don’t get paid to tell you this. I just think it’s a useful service.

Actions you can take now:

1. Head over to mail-tester.com and notice that it generates a unique email address for your test (something like test-cls74kxqtx37f@srv1.mail-tester.com)

2. In CiviCRM, generate an email to be sent to that address (e.g. on one of your Draft mailings, send a test message to that address; or, create a contact with that address and send an email to that contact.)

3. Head back to mail-tester.com and click the “Then check your score” button.

4. Observe the results. If you’re seeing problems with DKIM, DMARC, or SPF, or any other domain-related problems, take action to address those issues.

If you don’t have someone on your team who can address these issues, please reach out to me (or your favorite CiviCRM specialist) to get it fixed.

Leaving these problems unattended will increase your chances of landing in the Junk folder.

And that’s not where you want your lovingly-crafted emails to end up.

All the best,
A.

Avoiding the Junk folder: Gmail’s new rules

Do you send newsletters or other mass emails via CiviCRM?

Do you want to avoid those emails landing in the Junk folder, or even bouncing altogether?

If you do, you'll want to be aware of some new requirements that Gmail and Yahoo are implementing very soon — and be sure you're ready to comply.

"What, more requirements," you ask?

Yep, more requirements.

I get it, it's a pain in the neck. Sometimes I feel like I’m chasing an ever-changing set of requirements to make sure my emails actually land in the recipient’s in-box.

That's because email providers like Gmail and Yahoo are constantly looking for ways to reject spam intelligently, without rejecting legitimate subscribed content. And that’s because they’re constantly slammed with spam; they have to deal with it somehow.

So, sometimes they make changes aiming to kick out the spammers and let the good emails through. And then it's up to us as senders to jump through their hoops, so we don't look like spammers and get blocked.

So here’s the thing:

As of February, Gmail and Yahoo will start gradually increasing the strictness of their anti-spam requirements. Legitimate senders (that's you and me) will need to ensure we’re doing everything right.

For example:

1. Set up SPF, DKIM, and DMARC email authentication for your sending domain.

2. Ensure that sending domains or IPs have valid forward and reverse-DNS ("PTR") records.

3. Keep spam rates below 0.3% (as reported in Google Postmaster Tools).

4. For direct mail, the domain in the sender's From: header must be aligned with either the SPF domain or the DKIM domain.

5. Use a TLS connection for transmitting email.

6. Lots more ...

SendGrid has a great article explaining these requirements and others.

Please take action on this.

If you have someone on your team who knows what all those things even mean, and can ensure those requirements are met, please discuss this with them.

And if you don't, please reach out to me (or a CiviCRM specialist you trust) about it.

Your email lists are a precious resource. Writing emails that motivate people is important.

But then, you also have to make sure those emails actually make it to the in-box.

All the best,
A.

CiviCRM misconceptions: “It’s one app”

Here's one more misconception that trips people up, especially in the beginning.

CiviCRM misconception #5: "it's one app."

In a world of single-purpose apps and services, CiviCRM at first looks like just another app or service, as if it were a single piece of software from top to bottom.

This leads to a number of assumptions that aren't quite right:

• That there's a company behind it that guarantee the certain level of service;

• That once you install it, it's self-contained and ready to go;

• That any organization using this product will have access to the same set of features.

Now, this is true for CiviCRM Spark and other software-as-a-service CiviCRM offerings.

But it's not true for CiviCRM itself, in the way that most organizations use it.

Instead, CiviCRM functions more like a platform for building your own customized CRM system:

• You'll install it into your own Drupal, WordPress, or other content management system (CMS).

• each of those CMSs offer their own unique set of features, with a number of modules or plugins to augment CiviCRM’s interaction with the CMS.

• You also have access to hundreds of CiviCRM extensions to customize the functionality of itself.

• Many organizations have at least one or two custom-built CiviCRM extensions by which they modify its functionality even further.

• Even without all that, CiviCRM is highly configurable, to the extent that you can configure it in ways that are nonsensical or counterproductive for your work.

Here's the thing:

Yes, CiviCRM is a mature and well-built software system powered by a dedicated core team and an active community of professional developers.

But thinking of it as a single product will tend to overlook its incredible flexibility, as well as the amount of effort you might need to make it do everything you want — not to mention the fact that you actually can make it do things that only your organization needs (unlike other CRMs which really are “a single product”).

It can be more useful to think of it as a powerful CRM platform, which gives you a ton of great features out of the box, and which you can use to build a fully customized CRM for your organization.

All the best,
A.

CiviCRM misconceptions: “It’s easy”

When you first try out a live CiviCRM demo, it's looks pretty nice.

Everything is set up for a hypothetical organization with hypothetical needs, and it all runs quite smoothly.

This leads to CiviCRM misconception #4: "It's easy."

Sure, CiviCRM makes a lot of things much easier than they might have been, and you can get a lot done with it.

But expecting it to be “easy” is probably a mistake.

As with anything, you'll need to do a good bit of work to shape it to your needs.

• Set up compatible hosting.

• Set up outbound email services and payment processes.

• Tweak the configuration to sit your needs for memberships, events, contributions, and more.

• Import existing data from other systems

• Development a training plan for you and your team

• Implement a permissions scheme that gives staff only the access they really need

• ... and more.

In short, you'll have to make CiviCRM work for your real-world needs, not just the hypothetical needs of a hypothetical demo organization.

And, as always, you'll have to make hard choices about which goals you'll pursue — and which ones you won't — and how your CRM can support this goals.

But of course, that's always true, whether you're using CiviCRM or not.

All the best,
A.

CiviCRM misconceptions: "It's free!"

More CiviCRM misconceptions to deal with — Thanks again to all of you who are sending these in!

CiviCRM misconception #3: "It's free!"

This one is totally understandable. As a community-funded organization, every expenditure counts. So a CRM that demands no fees is naturally an attention-getter.

And it's really tempting to take that at face value. Because it just sounds so great.

But of course, there's a cost to everything.

• The time you and your staff spend learning managing anything is a limited resource, and it's precious.

• Any online system has to live somewhere, so it requires hosting and infrastructure, which will have some kind of cost.

• Hiring outside help is an investment of time and money, and there's a good chance you'll want to do that with CiviCRM, at some point.

It can help a lot to have some idea of what those costs will be before you dive in. But the irony is that, without experience, it can be hard to predict those costs.

Here's the thing:

CiviCRM is free, in all the meanings of that word:

• It's free as in "free beer." Since there are no licensing or subscription fees, you can install and use it without paying a dime, ever.

• It’s free as in "free speech." Because it's released under an open-source license, you can always do whatever you want with it, or modify it however you like. The sky's the limit.

• It's free as in "free kittens." It's fun to play with in the beginning, and then it's up to you to take care of it as it grows. Feeding, vet bills, scratched furniture, and the rest.

And as with anything, the important question is not, "How much does it cost?" but, "What is the value of it, and is that worth the investment?"

All the best,
A.

CiviCRM misconceptions: “Just another plugin”

Here's another CiviCRM misconception I'm hearing about:

CiviCRM misconception #2: “It's just another WordPress plugin / Drupal module / etc.”

The premise here is that since CiviCRM operates as a plugin in WordPress (or a module in Drupal), that installing and managing it will be like most other plugins/modules.

But if you've tried that, you'll know it's not that simple.

• Typical plugins install — and upgrade — easily with one click via WordPress's plugin management feature. CiviCRM installation is significantly more involved.

• Typical plugins offer a few features and no more. CiviCRM offers a whole raft of features (and thus, more complexity).

• Typical plugins will run properly on any server that supports WordPress. CiviCRM has a few additional system requirements.

Naturally, there are plenty of good reasons to clear those hurdles and put CiviCRM to work in your organization.

But knowing that the hurdles exist in the first place can make the whole "getting started" experience a lot smoother.

All the best,
A.

CiviCRM misconceptions: “It’s perfect for us!”

Thanks to everyone who responded to yesterday's email on CiviCRM misconceptions.

Here's one that I really like:

CiviCRM misconception #1: "It's perfect for us."

If you thought this at the beginning, you've almost certainly found some ways that it's not completely perfect for you.

Sure, it might be the best available choice. And you might still love it for the value you get out of it.

But like any software (or any system), it's not without its flaws:

• Bugs do appear now and then.

• It makes assumptions that are sometimes different from yours.

• When its features are "just right," it's great; but when they're "just almost right," it can get a little frustrating.

Here's the thing:

Even with the most "perfect" system, there will be challenges.

But if you can pick your battles wisely, and take steps to master that system for everything it can offer, to be in a good spot to make it work well for you.

You’re not just looking for “perfect tools” — you’re looking to perfect your entire way of working, and that’s a never-ending process.

All the best,
A.

CiviCRM misconceptions?

You've been using CiviCRM for a while now.

There are probably some things you learned along the way that you wish you'd known from the beginning.

I'd really love to hear what those are, for you, personally.

Please shoot me a quick reply. I'll summarize the responses in another email to the list (but of course won't share your name or private details, unless you want me to).

1. What do you wish you'd known about CiviCRM from the beginning?

2. How would knowing that have changed things for you?

Thanks,
A.

Plans are useless, but planning is indispensable

“In preparing for battle I have always found that plans are useless, but planning is indispensable.”

— Attributed to Dwight D. Eisenhower, commander of European Allied forces in WWII, later U.S. President

An old military adage asserts that "no plan survives the first contact with the enemy," yet military planning is still taught as an essential skill for leaders in all military organizations.

I'm not convinced that all plans are useless, or that they all fall apart when the action begins, but it's worth asking: If that were true, why would planning have any value at all?

Because the environment will shift. Staff turnover, new technologies, changes in regulations, competition for your audience's attention, all of that and more conspire to derail your plans.

But planning makes you think ahead.

It forces you to define your goals, and the metrics by which you will measure success, and the resources that you have available, and the challenges that you may face, and the methods you will use to achieve your desired outcomes.

If you're doing that, you'll be ready to shift with the changing environment.

Here's the thing:

You can't predict the future. But thinking ahead, in detail, makes you all the more ready to respond to everything that will happen on the way to your goals.

All the best,
A.

P.S. The Eisenhower quotation above is a very popular form of his statement, but the specific phrasing seems to be Richard Nixon’s.

Writing down your goals

When you set a goal for the coming week, or quarter, or year, are you writing them down?

Sure, there's nothing truly special about writing down a goal.

But it does allow you to double-check whether that goal is well articulated, and specific.

It also gives you a chance to reflect on whether it's reasonable, and to consider the objective metrics you'll need to achieve to get there.

It's nice to say that you have goals.

Writing them down is one way to help ensure you really know what they are.

All the best,
A.

Win or lose, you’re gathering information

When the time period for your goal is reached, you can see pretty clearly whether you’ve achieved that goal or not.

It’s tempting to think of those as winning or losing. After all, if you failed to reach your goal, it feels like a loss.

But remember: While the results of an achieved goal are valuable in themselves, there’s a valuable win for you in either scenario.

That’s because the process of setting goals and measuring against them is not just about getting the results as a one-time effort. It’s a way to learn some very important things about your processes:

• Were your goals realistic and well informed?

• How effective are your strategies and tactics?

• How well do you understand the tasks and objectives that lead to desirable outcomes?

• How good are your processes in carrying out those tasks and reaching those objectives?

• Where could you tweak your processes to improve any of the above?

Answers — honest, well-thought answers — to those questions are the real, valuable outcomes of your post-mortem inquiry.

Whether you achieved your stated goal or not, that post-mortem is your chance to regroup and improve your processes for your next goal.

Here’s the thing:

Because you’ll always be trying to improve your results, a goal is not merely an effort to achive a certain outcome.

Most importantly, it’s a test of your proceses. And if you’re not testing and improving your processes, you have no reason to expect improvement in the outcomes.

All the best,
A.

Handling a loss

If you're coming to the end of your annual holiday campaign, and you haven't reached your goals, you'll have to deal with that, one way or another.

Failing at a goal is not fun. But it's also not a complete loss.

Instead, it's a win for your information gathering.

After all, you did set a goal. And then you worked for it, and then you paid attention to the results in comparison to your goal.

Those are things that a lot of people just don't do.

But the real point here is that you are gathering information.

The goal outcome was of course something that you wanted to achieve, for its own value.

But more importantly, the goal served as a test of your methods. Because even if you had reached that goal, you wouldn't just stop there; you’d go on to set more goals.

Win or lose, your ability to reach your goal is an indication of the strength of your methods.

The real win here is that achieving the goal — or failing to achieve it — gives you the chance to improve your methods so that you can make better results in your next effort:

• More realistic goals.

• More effective tactics and strategies.

• More focused effort by the right team members on the right tasks.

Here's the thing:

Failing to achieve a goal is not a failure, unless you let it pass without learning and improving.

All the best,
A.

Handling a win

Napoleon famously said, "The most dangerous moment comes with victory."

Many of you are coming to the end of your annual or holiday campaigns in the next few days.

Hopefully you'll be able to celebrate a little as you find that you've reached your goals.

The question is, what's next?

I suspect the reason Napoleon said what he did is that it's easy to spend too much time celebrating and then forget to set the next goal.

There's always something more to do.

What are you planning next?

All the best,
A.

Training vs oversight

Getting results with CiviCRM requires that you master its functionality.

That comes through training, and practice. It's just a technical skill.

You can be self-taught, or you can get help, like my CiviCRM Success Coaching program.

But there's something else you need: oversight. Somebody has to be responsible that your CRM is well configured, well used, and well maintained.

That's pretty hard to outsource.

You need someone who knows your programs, policies, and goals. And that usually means someone who's inside your organization.

Here's the thing:

You can have someone from the outside help you master the technical skill.

But someone on the inside has to be sure those skills are used appropriately for your organization's goals.

If you don't know who that is, it's worth putting some thought into.

All the best,
A.

Nothing solves everything

My wife and I decided to homeschool our kids, as a solution to some problems we were seeing in the public school environment. It solves a lot of those problems, but maybe it brings up new problems of its own.

I decided to stop doing my own car repair even for small fixes, and hand that off to a professional, because of problems I was having doing it myself. It solves a lot of those problems, but maybe it brings up new problems of its own.

You've chosen CiviCRM as your primary constituent management system, because of problems you noticed with whatever other options you might have had.

And just like everything else, it solves a lot of those problems, but maybe it brings up new problems of its own.

Here's the thing:

No solution solves every problem.

Hopefully, you're able to compare objectively, and you’re content that your chosen solution is the one that solves the most problems, or at least the most valuable problems.

If it doesn't, why are you sticking with that solution?

All the best,
A.

Sometimes slower is better

CiviCRM charges no fees for its upgrade releases, which come out at least once a month.

So you can upgrade as frequently as you like, for free.

So why would anybody pay for the ability to upgrade less frequently?

Maybe you didn't even know that was an option. But the CiviCRM project offers an Extended Security Release plan, and many organizations pay between $20 and $100 a month for the privilege.

The reason is simple:

Upgrades that add new features can also introduce conflicts with your extensions, and other bugs. It’s just a reality of ongoing development in an active software project.

Having an easy way to get the latest security fixes without introducing those potential bugs is a genuine benefit.

Here's the thing:

Always sticking with the latest cutting edge version does have drawbacks, to the extent that some people are willing to pay to avoid such problems.

You definitely want to get the latest security fixes, but it's wise to consider the potential downside of always chasing the latest version.

Sometimes, slower is better.

All the best,
A.

Friction

When you catch yourself doing something you really don't want to do...

that's friction.

I don’t mean intentionally doing things you don't especially enjoy, like exercising for health, or deciding to eat less pie at the big holiday meal.

I mean the things you really feel you shouldn't have to do, but do anyway. The little tedious tasks you would outsource if you could. The annoying extra hoops you have to jump through to complete an important task.

That friction adds up.

In the extra time you spend. In mental stress. In distraction. Even in avoidance

What if you could remove it? Would you? At what cost of time and effort? What would that get you?

The truth is, you probably could remove a lot of it for an investment that's smaller than the benefit.

What's stopping you?

All the best,
A.

Daily practice = daily motivation

Are you creating systems of daily or weekly habits that help you reach your goals? Then you might have noticed that you get something pretty cool in the bargain:

Frequent, short-term achievement.

Here’s the thing:

Goals are awesome as long-term incentives. But that long-term aspect has its limitations.

Want to increase total contributions in your annual campaign by 15%?

Yes, that will be great when it happens, and that's worth celebrating.

But that can only happen once a year.

On the other hand, if you set up a system of daily and weekly habits that point you in that direction, and you actually stick to that system, you get small victories to celebrate every day, and every week.

If you stick to that system for a month, then you have a streak of small victories, and that streak by itself is worth celebrating.

Sure, it's not the big celebration you'll have when you reach your annual goal, but it's a series of real, if small, victories.

Try it for yourself. I think you'll see it's a genuine motivator in the short term for behaviors you know will help you get what you want in the long term.

All the best,
A.