Software companies say they will help you put “everything in one place.”
And I get it. People can’t find what they need and are tired of looking for stuff.
How many Slack messages have you received like:
“Hey, where is that document we talked about?”
People feel taxed by the cost of so many subscriptions and want to solve the problem once and for all.
Their solution: put everything in one place.
I can only assume that the people asking for this have closets that look like this:
We don’t want everything in one place.
We need a place for everything.
- Refrigerators for cold things
- Pantries for food
- Drawers for socks
- Sheds for tools
Software companies are giving us what we want rather than what we need.
They can't give us what we need.
Because what we need is discipline.
Think about the culture your family has developed around loading the dishwasher.
- Should forks go up or down in the basket?
- Do bowls go on the top rack or the bottom rack?
- Should dishes be thoroughly hand-washed, or is that what the dishwasher is for?
The dishwasher manual doesn’t answer any of these questions.
It’s pretty easy to imagine conversations in the kitchen:
“What are you doing with…”
“Well, my family did it like…”
"That’s exactly what I would expect your mom to do...”
“Who in their right mind would do it like…”
Marriages have ended at the dishwasher. :)
Software is like a dishwasher.
It helps us do things faster, but remains remarkably silent about how to use it with others.
- Where do we put our documents?
- When should we use Slack, or email, or send a text?
- Where do we store receipts?
- What tools should we use to collect surveys?
If you don’t answer these questions as a team, everyone will make it up as they go, and no one will be able to find anything.
What to do instead of the one-stop shop
"Everything in one place" is like "fetch." It's not going to happen.
Here are a few practical ways to embrace the chaos of many different tools.
- Put someone in charge of your tech stack
- Ask them to make the rules (with empathy and intention)
- Give them the authority to make hard choices. Software is about tradeoffs!
- Hold your tools loosely. Spend more time designing your process.
- Ask for help. (Hi 👋 I want to help.) Just reply to this email with questions about your tech stack or sign up for my next cohort.
Until next time,
Ted
PS: Katelyn Baughan, who is incredible at helping nonprofits develop email strategies, invited me on her podcast to discuss building a modern tech stack. Listen here!
