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“Overconfidence and AI

Human beings are often more effective when we’re a bit self-effacing. “I think,” “Perhaps,” or “I might be missing something, but…” are fine ways to give our assertions a chance to be considered.

The solar-powered LED calculator we used in school did no such thing. 6 x 7 is 42, no ifs, ands or buts.

Part of the magic of Google search was that it was not only cocky, it was often correct. The combination of its confidence and its utility made it feel like a miracle.

Of course, Google was never completely correct. It rarely found exactly the right page every time. That was left to us. But the aura of omnipotence persisted–in fact, when Google failed, we were supposed to blame evil black-hat SEO hackers, not an imperfect algorithm and a greedy monopolist.

And now, ChatGPT shows up with fully articulated assertions about anything we ask it.

I’m not surprised that one of the biggest criticisms we’re hearing, even from insightful pundits, is that it is too confident. That it announces without qualification that biryani is part of a traditional South Indian tiffin, but it’s not.

Would it make a difference if every single response began, “I’m just a beta of a program that doesn’t actually understand anything, but human brains jump to the conclusion that I do, so take this with a grain of salt…”

In fact, that’s our job.

When a simple, convenient bit of data shows up on your computer screen, take it with a grain of salt.

Not all email is spam.

Not all offers are scams.

And not all GPT3 responses are incorrect.

But it can’t hurt to insert your own preface before you accept it as true.

Overconfidence isn’t the AI’s problem. There are lots of cultural and economic shifts that it will cause. Our gullibility is one of the things we ought to keep in mind.

— Seth Godin

I share this with you because we’re in an era of digital disruption. And I’m sure you’ve been hearing a lot about AI, ChatGPT, and what this all means for you and your nonprofit moving forward.  I published an article on this topic earlier this week, and I love what Seth Godin has to say here.

Whenever anyone says anything with utmost confidence, asserting to be truth that which may be decidedly the opposite, it is our job as discerning human beings to sort the wheat from the chaff. If you, like me, are tired of people parroting what they heard on their news media bubble, or their social media feed, or their next-door-neighbor, without even attempting to independently verify the information, you owe it to yourself to take it with at least a grain of salt. Until you can learn more, and confirm. [This is why my articles are generally undergirded by research, data, opinions for other experts and the like; it’s not just me pontificating.]

The Clairity Click-it exists to bring you a range of voices from across the nonprofit world so you can resource, learn and digest at your own pace, coming to your own decisions. My hope is some of the free resources I’ve collected and curated for you will energize and enthuse you as you work towards guiding others on the pathway to passionate philanthropy. As always, a big thank you to my Clairity Click-it sponsor, Bloomerang, for making it possible for me to spend the hours of time hunting, gathering and choosing the resources I believe will be most useful as you.

Thank you for doing your vital work, and making our world a better place,

Claire

claire@clairification.com

P.S. Your support via enrollment in ‘Clairification School’ means a lot, and I am deeply appreciative. It is my honor to deliver original articles direct to your in-box every week, give you access to all my webinars, and offer up exclusive monthly tips, bonuses and more! 

There is more than one way to beat a flood. And when the problem at hand is a flood of ideas, products, strategies and what-not, it helps to have a way to focus and make decisions.  And I know no better help-mate than the inimitable Seth Godin.

Staring at decisions

“Soap is 85 cents a bar or two for a dollar. Which should you buy?

It depends. It depends on how much space you have, whether you like this brand, how full your cart is and whether or not you’re sure if the person who sent you to the market wants you to buy two.

It’s easy to focus on these sorts of low-value decisions.

There are organizations that spend far more time discussing a new logo than analyzing where to place the new office. One is filled with emotion and no economic importance, the other is fuzzy, complicated and incredibly expensive.

Perhaps you’ve seen someone spend emotion and focus figuring out a tip to the penny, but impulsively use credit card debt to go on a fancy vacation.

Marketers have pushed us to spend as little time as possible thinking about things like long-term debt, the implications of going to a famous college or the lifetime emissions of buying a certain kind of car or house. But we end up spending countless cycles on the trivial choices that make us feel like we have control over the world around us.

We may believe that if one takes care of the little things, the big ones won’t matter. Or the opposite.

It turns out that staring at an uncomfortable big decision might pay for a thousand of the little ones.”

— Seth Godin

What big decisions are you avoiding right now? Maybe it’s because they seem too uncomplicated? Too labor intensive? Too costly? Too, too… something?

If this is you, why not find something in this biweekly newsletter to lift you out of your torpor? My hope is some of the free resources I’ve collected and curated for you will energize and enthuse you as you work towards guiding others on the pathway to passionate philanthropy. As always, a big thank you to my Clairity Click-it sponsor, Bloomerang, for making it possible for me to spend the hours of time hunting, gathering and choosing the resources I believe will be most useful as you navigate the pathway to passionate philanthropy.

Thank you for doing your vital work, and making our world a better place,

Claire

claire@clairification.com

P.S. Your support via enrollment in ‘Clairification School’ means a lot, and I am deeply appreciative. It is my honor to deliver original articles direct to your in-box every week, give you access to all my webinars, and offer up exclusive monthly tips, bonuses and more! 

How about taking a moment, as one year ends and a new one begins, to take a good hard look at yourself in the most favorable light possible? See the good. Dwell on the beautiful. Smile when you recognize the essential “youness” of you.

LOVE AFTER LOVE
by Derek Walcott

The time will come
when, with elation,
you will greet yourself arriving
at your own door, in your own mirror,
and each will smile at the other’s welcome,
and say, sit here. Eat.
You will love again the stranger who was your self.
Give wine. Give bread. Give back your heart
to itself, to the stranger who has loved you

all your life, whom you ignored
for another, who knows you by heart.
Take down the love letters from the bookshelf,

the photographs, the desperate notes,
peel your own image from the mirror.
Sit. Feast on your life.

Here comes another feast of a sort: It’s biweekly newsletter time again! My hope is some of the free resources I’ve collected and curated for you will help you share your passions and guide others on the pathway to passionate philanthropy. As always, a big thank you to my Clairity Click-it sponsor, Bloomerang, for making it possible for me to spend the hours of time hunting, gathering and choosing the resources I believe will be most useful as you navigate the pathway to passionate philanthropy.

Thank you for doing your vital work, and making our world a better place,

Claire

claire@clairification.com

P.S. Your support via enrollment in ‘Clairification School’ means a lot, and I am deeply appreciative. It is my honor to deliver original articles direct to your in-box every week, give you access to all my webinars, and offer up exclusive monthly tips, bonuses and more! 

Here’s something to bring into your conversations with family, friends, colleagues and supporters as you navigate what can be a stressful time of year.

“In the Culture Code, Dan Coyle observes that good leaders learn how to listen in a specific way. Like a trampoline. Absorbing the message and then adding height and perspective to the conversation by asking questions, increasing our understanding.

Even if you learn nothing from listening except “this is what this person believes,” you still enhance your understanding of the world.

If you feel 100% comfortable discounting what someone is saying, listen anyway. Because you’ll learn something. You’ll learn how they think.

And if you learn a new piece of valuable insight, you win.” 

— Hugh MacLeod, The Gaping Void

Okay! It’s biweekly newsletter time again, and my hope is some of the free resources I’ve collected and curated for you will help you share your passions and guide others on the pathway to passionate philanthropy. As always, a big thank you to my Clairity Click-it sponsor, Bloomerang, for making it possible for me to spend the time hunting and gathering.

Thank you for doing your vital work, and making our world a better place,

Claire

claire@clairification.com

P.S. Your support via enrollment in ‘Clairification School’ means a lot, and I am deeply appreciative. It is my honor to deliver original articles direct to your in-box every week, give you access to all my webinars, and offer up exclusive monthly tips, bonuses and more! 

As we enter the season of light, and you move into full-steam-ahead year-end fundraising mode, there’s something I want to remind you about your messaging.

“Oh, by the way, it’s not about you.

The biggest mistake you can make is thinking your organization is the story.  People aren’t buying your organization.  When someone asks: “What do you do?” they’re not interested in your organization so much as what your organization accomplishes.

Imagine you’re at a dinner party and someone asks “What do you do?”  Are you going to tell them your entire life story?  Every aspect, from job to education to family to hobbies? No, of course not! You’ll tell them one thing about yourself.  Why?  Because they don’t know you. They’re not yet that interested in you. First, you have to intrigue them.

The same holds true with your nonprofit.  Whenever someone asks the “What do you do?” question, whether explicitly or implicitly, your job is simply this: tell them about ONE thing you accomplish.

“If you write what you yourself sincerely think and feel and are interested in,” Rachel Carson wrote as she contemplated the loneliness of creative work after her unexampled books about the sea made her one of the most beloved writers of her time, “you will interest other people.”

– Maria Popova, The Marginalian

Now is a good time to personally re-connect with your organization’s mission. What really jazzes you about the work your efforts make possible? If you’re not excited, don’t expect others to get excited. Philanthropy is a passion business!

Okay! It’s biweekly newsletter time again, and my hope is some of the free resources I’ve collected and curated for you will help you share your passions and guide others on the pathway to passionate philanthropy. As always, a big thank you to my Clairity Click-it sponsor, Bloomerang, for making it possible for me to spend the time hunting and gathering.

Thank you for doing your vital work, and helping make our world a better place,

Claire

claire@clairification.com

P.S. Your support via enrollment in ‘Clairification School’ means a lot, and I am deeply appreciative. It is my honor to deliver original articles direct to your in-box every week, give you access to all my webinars, and offer up exclusive monthly tips, bonuses and more! 

Show Me the Data

The fictional LA detective, Joe Friday, was famous for saying “Just the facts, Ma’am.”

Similarly, in the tech and business worlds, “show me the data” has become a common refrain.

As in, nothing really matters if there isn’t data to support it.

Well, that’s great if you’re a middle manager with a lot of boxes to tick.

But think back to the last time you saw a line go around the block, and ask yourself what the folks were waiting in line for.

Chances are, they weren’t in line to download a bunch of facts. They were in line to experience a story. Or a song. Or a preacher. Or a chef. Or a painter. They were in line to experience something unique and wonderful.

Data likely had Sweet-Fanny-Adams to do with any of it.

Russ Roberts talked about this on the Tim Ferris podcast back in August.

Yes, most of us are in business because we want to be successful. And yes, data in business is terribly important. But success requires more than just data. Success requires humanity as well. “Man does not live by bread alone” and all that.

–– Hugh MacLeod, The Gaping Void

All of the above holds true, big time, in fundraising. People are drawn to emotional stories, not logical data. As you move forward with year-end fundraising, bear this in mind. People don’t care about the how, what, when and where of what you do. They care about the who and the why. Please, please, please do a quick check of any mailed or online appeals you plan to send between now and December 31^st to make sure they include a compelling story, an ask, and very little else.

Persuade, don’t lecture.

Okay! It’s biweekly newsletter time again, and my hope is some of the free resources I’ve collected and curated for you will give you the help you need to meet your greatest challenges.  As always, a big thank you to my Clairity Click-it sponsor, Bloomerang, for making it possible for me to spend the time hunting and gathering.

It is my sincere pleasure and honor to help you find the ideas, strategies, templates and tools you need to make our world a better place.

Thank you for doing your vital work, and helping make our world a better place,

Claire

claire@clairification.com

P.S. Your support via enrollment in ‘Clairification School’ means a lot, and I am deeply appreciative. It is my honor to deliver original articles direct to your in-box every week, give you access to all my webinars, and offer up exclusive monthly tips, bonuses and more! 

“I’m not that smart”

Someone said that to me the other day and it was heartbreaking.

The number of tasks in our culture that require someone who was born with off-the-charts talent is small indeed.

Just about everything else we need people to do is the result of effort, practice and care. It’s true that variations of that work are easier for some folks, but no one finds all of it easy going.

The correct thing to say is, “I don’t care that much.” I don’t care enough to do the reading, to fail along the way, to show up, to make a promise, to learn as I go, to confront failure, to get better at the work.

All of that might be true.

But you’re almost certainly smart enough.

— Seth Godin

If you’re using your own judgement of your level of intelligence as an excuse for not learning a new skill, ask yourself if that’s really the core of the problem. It could simply mean you’re not interested. You don’t have the heart to work hard at what you’re being asked to do. Or what you think you should do.  That’s okay. But if it’s the case, perhaps you should find another line of work. An area where you can invest those talents that most align with the core of your being.

It’s a choice; not fate.

If you like the niche you find yourself in, person up. Real excellence and achievement is largely a matter of commitment and practice. This is what Malcolm Gladwell wrote about in Outliers. First learn what needs to be done. Then study how to do it. Then… do it!

It is my hope some of the free resources I’ve collected and curated for you in this newsletter will give you the help you need.  As always, a big thank you to my Clairity Click-it sponsor, Bloomerang, for making it possible for me to spend the time hunting and gathering.

It is my sincere pleasure and honor to help you find the ideas, strategies, templates and tools you need to make our world a better place.

Thank you for doing your vital work, and helping make our world a better place,

Claire

claire@clairification.com

P.S. Your support via enrollment in ‘Clairification School’ means a lot, and I am deeply appreciative. It is my honor to deliver original articles direct to your in-box every week, give you access to all my webinars, and offer up exclusive monthly tips, bonuses and more! 

Fundraisers have only three basic objectives:

1) To describe their institution and what makes it distinctive

2) To develop a sense of urgency for the project or program, and

3) To secure the necessary funds to make it happen.

 Your job is to get the largest gift possible, in the shortest amount of time, to the greatest joy of the donor. People give to change and to save lives. That is the chief motivating factor. Make that the dominant theme in your material and contacts.

Success in fundraising is due less to the fundraiser’s experience than to loving the work. Less to intelligence than to your zeal. Less to the mechanics of the job than to enthusiasm and total commitment to the mission. 

– Jerold Panas,  Irrefutable Canons of Fundraising

This is the time of year to boost your enthusiasm so you’ll boost your results. It is my hope some of these collected free resources will give you the jolt you need to double down on what draws you to your mission. This renewal of commitment on your part will translate to a similar renewal of commitment on the part of your supporters.  Passion is contagious!

As always, a big thank you to my Clairity Click-it sponsor, Bloomerang, for making it possible for me to spend the time hunting and gathering.

It is my sincere pleasure and honor to help you find the ideas, strategies, templates and tools you need to make our world a better place.

Thank you for doing your vital work, and helping make our world a better place,

Claire

claire@clairification.com

P.S. Your support via enrollment in ‘Clairification School’ means a lot, and I am deeply appreciative. It is my honor to deliver original articles direct to your in-box every week, give you access to all my webinars, and offer up exclusive monthly tips, bonuses and more! 

Who cares?

No one cares. That happens rarely.

Someone cares. That happens all the time, and it’s at the heart of our work.

Everyone cares. Almost never.

Someone is enough. In fact, someone is the entire point

— Seth Godin

As we enter into prime fundraising season, it’s important to ask the question: Who cares? These folks are the “someones” you should be targeting with your marketing communications and fundraising messaging. Are you, perhaps, trying to reach the amorphous “everyone?”

Think about it. In fact, take some time every week to think carefully about what you’re about to do that week. Does it make sense? Will it positively impact your bottom line? Will it grow a solid base of support among people who care?

Here are some free resources, curated from across the web. Click on those that speak to you. Some offer practical tips; others important food for thought. See if there’s a webinar you want to attend.

As always, a big thank you to my Clairity Click-it sponsor, Bloomerang, for making it possible for me to spend the time hunting and gathering.

It is my sincere pleasure and honor to help you find the ideas, strategies, templates and tools you need to make our world a better place.

Thank you for doing your vital work, and helping make our world a better place,

Claire

claire@clairification.com

P.S. Your support via enrollment in ‘Clairification School’ means a lot, and I am deeply appreciative. It is my honor to deliver original articles direct to your in-box every week, give you access to all my webinars, and offer up exclusive monthly tips, bonuses and more! 

Feature creep

1. 1. Adding another feature is cheap compared to the benefits it offers to new users or existing ones.
   2. Once a feature is added, it is almost never removed.
   3. When enough features are added, the system breaks down and fails.

This isn’t just software. It’s the menu at the diner. It’s the buttons on the dashboard of a car. It’s the variety of choices parents are offered of which dates summer camp starts or ends. Anything where a lot of hard work can be slightly improved simply by adding an innocuous option.

Add one point, Yahoo had 183 links on their home page. Google, which had two, ultimately grabbed all of their search traffic. The app on my phone can now open the trunk of my car if I press enough buttons.

Features are useful (that’s why we call them features). And yes, serving the underserved and the unseen is important. But creep cannot continue forever. At some point, there’s system bankruptcy and the cycle begins again.

While we might not easily say no to a new feature, we can be smart and proactive when it comes time to clear the slate and start over.

— Seth Godin

Here are some free resources, curated from across the web. Per Seth Godin, you don’t want to try everything at once, but some features will make your job easier, more fulfilling and more successful. In other words, don’t overly crowd your donation page or offer a reply form with too many choices. Do adopt useful features that make giving, and asking, easy.

As always, a big thank you to my Clairity Click-it sponsor, Bloomerang, for making it possible for me to spend the time hunting and gathering.

It is my sincere pleasure and honor to help you find the ideas, strategies, templates and tools you need to make our world a better place.

Thank you for doing your vital work, and helping make our world a better place,

Claire

claire@clairification.com

P.S. Your support via enrollment in ‘Clairification School’ means a lot, and I am deeply appreciative. It is my honor to deliver original articles direct to your in-box every week, give you access to all my webinars, and offer up exclusive monthly tips, bonuses and more!