LinkedIn For Blackberry App Won’t Connect

Not a real blog posting today, but instead, a potential solution to a bug in the newly released LinkedIn App for the Blackberry.

If you are getting a constant error telling you: "Unable to login: Unable to connect to LinkedIn. Please check your connection and try again" give the following a try.

Go to Options and deselect WiFi. The app seems to try WiFi if it smells any signal at all, even if you can't connect. In the case of a network that you can't connect to, it just errors out that your password doesn't match.

Give this a try and leave me a comment letting me know if it works for you.  Also, if you have any other comments on the LinkedIn for Blackberry, fire away.  I’ll be reviewing it soon.

Terminator: CRM Judgment Day

A common theme in science fiction is technology run amuck.  Whether it’s the rise of a sentient network in Terminator or mutating weapons of war in Screamer, there seems to be some basic, primal fear of being destroyed by the works of our own hands.  And it’s probably with good reason.

In Salesforce, and in most or all other CRM systems, there is the concept of a sharing rule.  These rules extend permissions and visibility beyond what a user has by her inherent role in the hierarchy and what is provided by her profile.  For example, perhaps Ming might be restricted by her role to see only accounts in Singapore and by her profile to a read only status.  Depending on the CRM system, a sharing rule could let her see accounts in Germany, France, and Canada, as well as giving her write permissions.  Sharing rules are very powerful, extremely useful, and remarkably dangerous.

Why dangerous?  First, they are complex.  Much like introducing rabbits to Australia the unintended consequences are not immediately obvious and can be hard to combat.  Anything that modifies the organic structure of a system’s architecture is complicated and complicated things are prone to error.  Are you absolutely, positively, certain the rule you are about to roll out in production won’t expose confidential data or lay your system open to an angry sales person?  You did test it in sandbox, right?

Second, they are persistent.  Like the sorcerer's apprentice, once set in motion, they will continue doing their job forever.  Possibly long after the need is gone and the administrator who created it has moved on or has forgotten about it.

Third, they are difficult to document.  Being complex and dealing with the relationships of a fluid enterprise, what seems clear and understandable to you today, may mean little to your successor, trying to unravel the mess, five years down the pike.

Should we avoid sharing rules?  No, of course not.  What we have to commit to do without fail is to:

1.  Use them only when there is no other choice and then grant as limited powers as is possible.

2.  Document them in painstaking detail.  Assume that when the documentation will be read, you are dead and the reader is not particularly bright.

3.  Review them at least once a year and make sure they are still needed, accurately working, and that the documentation is up to date.

Use sharing rules, but don’t leave a mess for the future!

My Brain, Version 2.0

I am the first to admit it; I’m forgetful.  Not just a little, but to the point where I had a white board in my office where I wrote the future Paul notes such as, “You are researching ways to track ELA’s because Andy in finance asked you about it on Tuesday.”  If I didn’t, I might remember to do the research, but I’d forget why I was interested.  Pathetic?  Pretty much so. 

Over the years, I’ve tried just about every memory jogging system out there.  They ranged from paper and pencil, to Outlook tasks, AskSandy.com, pingme.com, rememberthemilk.com, and a bunch that, well, I can’t remember!  Finally though, I’ve found one that is powerful, inexpensive (or free), and easy to use.  That system is called reQall.

reQall is a cloud application that at the most basic level, functions as a reminder program.  Like Outlook or just about anything else, it can alert you that it’s your spouses birthday in a week or that you need to take the car in for an oil change.



The real power comes from all the other, subtly different ways reQall assists me in keeping on top of my life.  For example, in addition to traditional To-Dos, it has a category called Shopping List.  Here, you store the things you need to acquire.  For example, my wife has me on a hunt for the perfect curtain rod.  Hence:



Not only I set a reminder and a due to date to buy something, I can (in the Pro version), associate that need with a place, so if I’m driving near the House Of Curtain Rods, reQall will alert me to stop in, regardless of the due date.  This feature alone is worth the $25 for a year of the pro version.  It helps me combine trips and stops and in general, be more efficient.  This is one of the few things the free version lacks.

Another particularly useful feature for me is the memory jogger.  It selectively drips me with things that are not yet due, but that I should keep in my mind.  For instance, it periodically reminds me of my wife’s birthday and our anniversary.  Think of this as exercise for your memory.  I actually think it’s strengthening my mind!

In addition to having an excellent website, the application can be accessed and items added by iPhone or Blackberry.  Even the free version lets you create new items by voice, text, IM, or chat.  With the Pro version, items can be added or edited by email and has full integration to your Outlook and Gmail calendars.



Not sure how I lived before reQall.  Give the free version a try and let me know what you think!

My Parent’s Doctor

“Country Doctor” W. Eugene Smith 1948

While the photo above isn’t literally Dr. Smith, the family doctor that took care of my family when I was a young boy, it could well have been.  Dr. Smith delivered babies, removed appendixes, treated infections, set bones, and made house calls.  He was a true generalist.

There are few Dr. Smiths anymore. 

Increasingly complex procedures and demands by patients for experts have resulted in doctors focusing on smaller and smaller slices of practice.  Even where we once had heart specialists, we may now have pediatric, coronary, surgeons.  In much the same way, the CRM generalist is going the way of the old, country doctor.

Only six years ago, I started concentrating my career in the sphere of CRM.  At that time, I knew pretty much all there was to know about my system of choice—Salesforce.  I could configure any object, write validation rules, build an S-Control that would make your head spin, and train users like a college professor.   There was very little from rollout to customization to troubleshooting that I couldn’t do.

Not so, today.  I’m still a Salesforce certified administrator and I can fix 95% of what breaks, but when it comes to the most complex functions, I find myself turning to experts or spending hours combing through documentation.   I have a broad knowledge of the system, but truth be told, I find it more and more difficult to keep up with the brutal, three times a year, release rate for new versions.  I am a country doctor in the coming age of specialists.

That’s not entirely accurate.  In reality, I’m a family doctor, not a  country doctor.  The difference is, the country doctor was expected to do everything, but today, the family doctor needs to have the ability to “fix” everyday problems, but even more importantly, to know when it is in everyone’s interest to engage a specialist for the good of the patient.

In the care of people, the family doctor is a highly skilled diagnostician, excellent basic caregiver, and able to coordinate treatment in the same way a conductor leads the orchestra.  That’s the role for the person who was once a generalist in regards CRM systems. 

If you’re a specialist, I salute you and your dedication to your craft.  If you’re like me however, don’t be ashamed.  Just like a hospital full of surgeons, oncologists, and ophthalmologists isn’t the optimal mix for life long health care for people, integration specialists and coders need people like us who can see the big picture.  Hold your head high and go read the new release notes so you can keep everyone on the same page!

What do you think?  Am I right?  Wrong?  Missing the point entirely?

Dear Potential Vendor

Today’s column is going to be a little different than most.  Instead of discussing best practices for a CRM system or waxing poetic about the newest gadget I’ve installed on my Blackberry, I am going to show you the letter I’d like to send to every potential vendor that I have to deal with. 

Dear Potential Vendor,

Thank you for bringing your product or service to me for consideration by my employer.  I genuinely enjoy investigating new technologies and as a stockholder in my company, it is in my fiduciary interest to locate the best value possible.

As a prospect and perhaps a customer, I promise you the following:

1.  I will treat you with respect.  Just because you are selling me something, I will not be verbally abusive or condescending toward you.
2.  I will be truthful with you.  I will not lie to gain an advantage nor will I exaggerate my authority.
3.  I will be considerate of your time, remembering that if I waste your day, I am taking food out your children’s mouths.
4.  While I will attempt to get the best, honest deal for my company, when negotiating, I will not attempt to deny you your livelihood.

In return, I expect—demand—the following from you:

1.  Treat me with respect.  My name is not, “Bub”, “Dude”, “Buddy”, or “Pauly”.  It is Paul.
2.  Do not lie.  Do not lie if you think I won’t find out; I will.  Do not lie to get the deal; karma is a harsh mistress and we have lawyers that are more vicious than rabid pit bulls. Do not promise what you cannot deliver.
3.  Do not waste my time.  Every superfluous PowerPoint slide you show me about your company’s founding, after I have asked you to proceed to the product demo, prevents me from doing my real job.
4.  Do not try to screw me over.  I only look stupid, but I’m not.  I don’t begrudge you a living, so don’t endanger mine by trying to make my company overpay.

Treat me as you would treat your own family; I’ll do the same by you and we’ll all get through this just fine.

Sincerely,
Paul Young

Doctor No

Contrary to what some of my colleagues and many of my end users will tell you, I’m a nice guy.  Seriously.  I don’t knock down old people, steal from the poor box at church, or oppress indigenous peoples.  I’ve never robbed a bank, raped or pillaged, nor do I lust after my neighbor’s Xbox.  Then why do so many people think I’m a jerk?  Because it often falls to me to say, “no.”  And to some of them even worse than, “no,” I have to say, “not now and not exactly what you want.”  Hence my nickname, Doctor No. 

Based on years of often bitter experience, I’ve compiled some ways to soften the blow and help users see that it isn’t personal and it isn’t the end of their dreams.  One quick note before we start.  Make sure it isn’t personal.  Your decisions should always be made with coldly rational thought, supported by your superiors, and fully documented.  If you fail any one of these three items, expect a very short and unhappy career.

The first step is to make sure the user has clearly stated the request.  Don’t let them get away with, “I need a report to track sales.”  They need to tell you the exact metrics to measure.  For example, do they mean closed sales, sales that have cleared finance, or all sales that are at greater than 95% probability of close?  What geographical regions are they interested in?  Over what time period?  Do they want just the totals or the individual deals?  You get the idea.  It is up to you to help them formulate exactly what they need.  If you don’t, you will never, never, deliver what they want and guess who will get the blame for failure?

The second step is to define why they want it.  What benefit will the project or change bring to the company?  If they can’t clearly quantify benefits, how can you justify your time and resources to management?  Don’t let them be foggy here.  This is their request; they need to tell you why they need it.

The third step is to figure out when they need it.  Every user will tell you that there is no rush, so long as they can have it by this afternoon.  Don’t let them push you or bully you.  Make sure they define when they think they need it and why?  What are the consequences of delay?  What are the benefits of speed?  These data points will help you weigh the priorities and allocate your finite, scarce resources.

Once you have all of their input, work with them to refine it and help them to see that while they may not get 100% right now, you can get them the 80% that is core.  After this last phase of step three is done, you’re ready to take the project or change and showcase it to your superiors.

The fourth step is to take all the data you have helped them pull together and to present it to your management.  Every project or change outside the routine needs buy in from the chain of command.  When things head South, you’re going to need some big shoulders to help keep the fallout off you.  When you discover you have to have exceptional effort from recalcitrant coworkers, you’re going to want a loyal boss to do the prodding for you. 

The fifth step is to document everything.  EVERYTHING.  If it isn’t in writing, it didn’t happen.  Trust me, one day you’ll thank me for the admonition.

The sixth step is to keep in touch with your requestor during the project.  Give her updates and get signoffs at each step of the way.  This is as much to make sure you have not strayed from the course as it is to remind them of what they asked for.

The seventh and last step is to deliver the project or change and get signoff that all is the way it was requested.  Don’t skip this vital item or it will come back to bite you one day.

It seems like a lot of work and detail, but just like driving a car, it will become second nature to you.  After the first few times, you won’t have to even think about the steps, but they’ll be there, making sure your project succeeds and protecting your career for years to come.

Leave a comment and let Dr. No, know what you think!