Yesterday I received a thoughtful question from Ellen Weber at Mita Leadership that warranted a post.
Ellen's question was :
"Do you believe technology is able to bring about genuine changes that would improve our business and our communities? Or do you feel that what we see and write about promotes deep traditional systems which resist change? I'd be keen to hear your views, as I deal with change and love the challenges."
As a result of Ellen's question, I have spent the last day looking at the technology I use from a little different perspective. As I flipped on my TIVO and watched Sunday's episode of West Wing last night I asked myself, “What was life like before TIVO?”
And most importantly, without TIVO, I likely would not have been able to offer my personal consult to President Bartlet this week. No question TIVO has been a positive application of technology in my life.
As my Palm phone's battery runs dry for the 2nd time in a day on my drive home, I ask myself, “Was this call productive, or was I generating dialog and discussion that was not well thought through?” The answer sadly, much of my cell time, is more motion than momentum.
There is no simple answer to the question Ellen asked. However, as a self declared tech-geek, I do have strong opinions that appropriate use of technology is indeed a key enabler to productivity, business execution ability, and a better way of life. This being said, I think one of the major challenges we as a high-tech culture will face is that of losing individual identity, and substituting the invaluable interaction that we, as humans deeply need.
The first time the concept of over-use of technology really hit me was when I was at a bank in our local grocery store. The bank had live monitors set up and cameras that you would talk to, rather than a teller. The teller was directly behind the wall, but all interaction was through the monitor and mechanical exchanges. I found the exchange sterile, impersonal, and very frustrating. In fact, I found it so frustrating that I switched banks.
From my observation, far too often we are using technology for technology sake rather than addressing a real problem. This is where the line in the sand is drawn for me.
Certain segments of the population are more rapid at consuming, embracing, and promoting technology. A good example of this is contrasting my 19 year-old adopted Nepalese daughter and my 81 year-old blind father. My daughter who is now in college uses text messaging on her phone as her primary communication medium. She actually requests that I "text" her rather than call her. She claims she can then "respond to me even when she is in class." She interacts more on MySpace with friends than she does face to face.
At the other end of the spectrum, my father still uses his 1984 Brother Electric typewriter to type letters. It took him years to accept and put a fax machine in his office. The computer...forget it. He does not like the "new fangled phones" and places his weekly check-in call to me from his simple, standard, 12 button touch-pad phone. All of his children know better than to try and give him a phone with a speed dial button attached. We have tried. All 7 of these phones are still in boxes. Heaven forbid you talk about blogging in front of him. He would think you were swearing.
The point being, certain segments of our population will thrive and embrace technology in their lives and others go to the grave fighting it.
Irrespective of young or old, techno-geek or not, the one area in which technology does indeed threaten us is degradation of human interaction and traditional beliefs. To some degree of magnitude, we all face this dilemma.
There is a great book called "The Lexus and the Olive Tree" by Thomas L. Friedman. This book is about globalization, but also touches in great detail the tug-of-war that humans face in attempting to cling to tradition and hold our identity in a world of rapid change, as well as the bombardment of media and rapid implementation of technology in our lives. It is a profound read and worth the $10.37 on Amazon.
I guess my summary is simple. Technology for technology sake is unnecessary and will not increase productivity or enable personal or business progression. Regretfully, we continue to fall into the habit of using technology inappropriately. However, technology that decreases transaction costs, enables rapid scale, or enables time flexibility will continue to grow rapidly and be of great value on all levels. The first key is to distinguish the difference. The second key is to utilize technology appropriately, and not have it detract from our trust and close relationships, generate external unwanted noise or stimulus in our lives, nor interfere with our value systems.
The reality is, it is harder than it sounds…..I have to go my cell phone is ringing.
Ellen's question was :
"Do you believe technology is able to bring about genuine changes that would improve our business and our communities? Or do you feel that what we see and write about promotes deep traditional systems which resist change? I'd be keen to hear your views, as I deal with change and love the challenges."
As a result of Ellen's question, I have spent the last day looking at the technology I use from a little different perspective. As I flipped on my TIVO and watched Sunday's episode of West Wing last night I asked myself, “What was life like before TIVO?”
- Time was not my own
- Commercial interruptions
- Held hostage to what is on the tube at that moment
- If I am able to watch the program, either my kids would be crawling on me, or I would have interfered with family time.
And most importantly, without TIVO, I likely would not have been able to offer my personal consult to President Bartlet this week. No question TIVO has been a positive application of technology in my life.
As my Palm phone's battery runs dry for the 2nd time in a day on my drive home, I ask myself, “Was this call productive, or was I generating dialog and discussion that was not well thought through?” The answer sadly, much of my cell time, is more motion than momentum.
There is no simple answer to the question Ellen asked. However, as a self declared tech-geek, I do have strong opinions that appropriate use of technology is indeed a key enabler to productivity, business execution ability, and a better way of life. This being said, I think one of the major challenges we as a high-tech culture will face is that of losing individual identity, and substituting the invaluable interaction that we, as humans deeply need.
The first time the concept of over-use of technology really hit me was when I was at a bank in our local grocery store. The bank had live monitors set up and cameras that you would talk to, rather than a teller. The teller was directly behind the wall, but all interaction was through the monitor and mechanical exchanges. I found the exchange sterile, impersonal, and very frustrating. In fact, I found it so frustrating that I switched banks.
From my observation, far too often we are using technology for technology sake rather than addressing a real problem. This is where the line in the sand is drawn for me.
Certain segments of the population are more rapid at consuming, embracing, and promoting technology. A good example of this is contrasting my 19 year-old adopted Nepalese daughter and my 81 year-old blind father. My daughter who is now in college uses text messaging on her phone as her primary communication medium. She actually requests that I "text" her rather than call her. She claims she can then "respond to me even when she is in class." She interacts more on MySpace with friends than she does face to face.
At the other end of the spectrum, my father still uses his 1984 Brother Electric typewriter to type letters. It took him years to accept and put a fax machine in his office. The computer...forget it. He does not like the "new fangled phones" and places his weekly check-in call to me from his simple, standard, 12 button touch-pad phone. All of his children know better than to try and give him a phone with a speed dial button attached. We have tried. All 7 of these phones are still in boxes. Heaven forbid you talk about blogging in front of him. He would think you were swearing.
The point being, certain segments of our population will thrive and embrace technology in their lives and others go to the grave fighting it.
Irrespective of young or old, techno-geek or not, the one area in which technology does indeed threaten us is degradation of human interaction and traditional beliefs. To some degree of magnitude, we all face this dilemma.
There is a great book called "The Lexus and the Olive Tree" by Thomas L. Friedman. This book is about globalization, but also touches in great detail the tug-of-war that humans face in attempting to cling to tradition and hold our identity in a world of rapid change, as well as the bombardment of media and rapid implementation of technology in our lives. It is a profound read and worth the $10.37 on Amazon.
I guess my summary is simple. Technology for technology sake is unnecessary and will not increase productivity or enable personal or business progression. Regretfully, we continue to fall into the habit of using technology inappropriately. However, technology that decreases transaction costs, enables rapid scale, or enables time flexibility will continue to grow rapidly and be of great value on all levels. The first key is to distinguish the difference. The second key is to utilize technology appropriately, and not have it detract from our trust and close relationships, generate external unwanted noise or stimulus in our lives, nor interfere with our value systems.
The reality is, it is harder than it sounds…..I have to go my cell phone is ringing.
Posted by: Ellen Weber | March 29, 2006 7:51 PM | Permalink to Comment