Have you ever wondered if you were good enough for your work? In our thirst for information, ideas and improvement, we might be forgiven some pangs of inadequacy. I know you care about learning (you’re reading this, after all). And that’s absolutely necessary. But in the meantime, let me reassure you: You are good enough […]
Are you feeling stressed? Why good might be better than perfect
Are you a perfectionist? I’m going to make a wild guess: you care a lot about your work. If not your organization, then about the mission. We wouldn’t be doing this work if we didn’t care. A lot. That leads me to another guess: you tend toward perfectionism. About 30% of people are perfectionists. That […]
Oops! What you learned from your fundraising #fail
Last week I wrote about fundraising mistakes. They’re important, because they’re a wonderful, if sometimes painful, way to learn. I asked for your contributions. So this week, we’ll hear from some friends and colleagues. Their experience might help you. And well, we’ve all been there – it’s a good reminder you’re not alone. Jim reports: […]
Fundraising bloopers: I’ll show you mine, if you show me yours
Have you ever made a fundraising mistake? I’m hoping you answer “yes”. Mistakes are important in our field. We’re adding daily to our knowledge of fundraising. That new information often comes from mistakes – or in their nicer outfit, experiments. Those of us who love direct mail and email know how important those experiments are. […]
Why I want you to fail this year
No, I don’t want you to have a bad year. But a safe year, with nothing learned? That’s a bad year. Failing can be good! And being afraid to fail? Not so good. An example: I know I need to refresh my website. No, check that. I know it needs an overhaul. But I’m tied […]