Technology and Other Human Things

We can cook a turkey in 15 minutes; send a text around the world with the press of a thumb; watch or listen to anything we want on our smartphones. We are so fortunate. And now we can have a computer create everything. Look at us doing stuff and things with gadgets and doohickeys. We are the coolest.

Media are consumed mostly when we're alone. We don't gather around and answer an email and we don't hover over Josh's phone when he's texting Susan. We may binge watch that show on that streaming platform with our partner. Once a year we may gather at a buddy's house to eat too much and watch the Super Bowl. The rest of the time we are on our devices researching, reading, texting, replying, and searching by ourselves.

Technology, they said, would improve our lives. 

We can buy a car on the internet, learn about penguins on our mobile device, find the best sushi restaurant in Des Moines, and read about an awesome vacation someone else took while sitting on our couch.  

Most of the time we are connecting with each other through all this supposed cool technology while we are by ourselves. I wrote this alone and you're probably reading it while you're alone. I have a friend who hasn't answered his phone in years. He'll respond to my texts almost immediately, but I don't dare suggest an actual conversation. 

Technology, they said, would give us choices.

I remember a restaurant experience when the table next to us had six people all staring at their phones. Their meals arrived and phones weren't put away; they were placed beside plates and glanced at often. Their bill arrived and it looked like the dance of the smartphones as each of them transferred their amount to the one guy who tapped the server's machine to pay it in full. 

Technology, as it turns out, has created more depression and less human interaction. We are checking our phones yet miss what that guy said about the thing. I got a text; it must be important. I'd better check my email; I may have missed something. What's on my smart device is clearly way more important than any of this human stuff. 

I'm sure AI will solve it all.

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We Are So Cool

Technology, they said, would be good for us. 

We can cook a turkey in 15 minutes; send a text around the world with the press of a thumb; watch or listen to anything we want on our smartphones. We are so fortunate. Look at us doing stuff and things with gadgets and doohickeys. We are the coolest.

Media are consumed mostly when we're alone. We don't gather around and answer an email and we don't hover over Josh's phone when he's texting Susan. We may binge watch that show on that streaming platform with our partner. Once a year we may gather at a buddy's house to eat too much and watch the Super Bowl. The rest of the time we are on our devices researching, reading, texting, replying, and searching by ourselves.

Technology, they said, would improve our lives. 

We can buy a car on the internet, learn about penguins on our mobile device, find the best sushi restaurant in Des Moines, and read about an awesome vacation someone else took while sitting on our couch.  

Most of the time we are connecting with each other through all this supposed cool technology while we are by ourselves. I wrote this alone and you're probably reading it while you're alone. I have a friend who hasn't answered his phone in years. He'll respond to my texts almost immediately, but I don't dare suggest an actual conversation. 

Technology, they said, would give us choices.

I remember a restaurant experience when the table next to us had six people all staring at their phones. Their meals arrived and phones weren't put away; they were placed beside plates and glanced at often. Their bill arrived and it looked like the dance of the smartphones as each of them transferred their amount to the one guy who tapped the server's machine to pay it in full. 

Technology, as it turns out, has created more depression and less human interaction. We are checking our phones yet miss what that guy said about the thing. I got a text; it must be important. I'd better check my email; I may have missed something. What's on my smart device is clearly way more important than any of this human stuff.

Technology, they said, would make us more connected. 

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Where Are You Right Now?

The world keeps getting faster and we keep adding gadgets and technology to make it easier which gives us more reasons to stay busier and less time for each other. The pandemic has created more Zoom calls than human connection. We're answering emails at all hours like hamsters on a wheel. There are days when I finally take a moment to look at a clock and it's 4pm. Where did the day go? I love my work but I don't seem to take a breath to gain perspective some days.

I once had a boss who traveled the country to meet with managers like me but was never really in the city he was located in at the time. During our meetings, his face was buried in his smartphone. He would fidget in his chair like a petulant three year old. His eyes would dart back and forth. He pretended to pay attention but it was clear he was somewhere else. The man couldn't sit still for a two seconds.

Busy Being Busy

Years ago, a friend moved to a much larger city. I asked him if he noticed the pace had increased and he said people seemed busier but he was unsure they were getting any more accomplished. A while back, I had a bit of a cold that lasted a few days. I tried to keep up with work but I had one critical realization; the world didn't fall apart because I wasn't answering emails within seconds. I'm not curing world hunger.

Let's heed the wise words of Calvin of Calvin and Hobbes; "We're so busy watching out for what's just ahead of us that we don't take time to enjoy where we are."

Sage advice from a cartoon kid.

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Unlimited Access

One hundred years ago, there weren't all these ways to stay in touch yet business was built, careers thrived, and relationships flourished. Media penetration has created the ability for us to connect with someone on the other side of the planet we may not have previously known. The explosion of social tools and electronic collaborative spaces have shrunk the earth to allow us to find like-minded people with the push of a thumb.

We are all publishes, media makers, opinion sharers, and data miners.

As we create the appearance of a more connected world, we may be slowly losing the connection to ourselves and soon to each other. Snippets of half conversations, misspelled texts between meetings, skimmed over details of an upcoming project, all in the quest to do more and more and more.

More for less, more meetings, more email, more information, more activity. More everything. The week is the same length it was 200 years ago yet we are inundated with data constantly. This doesn’t mean it’s useful or valuable but it’s more to sift through. And while we try and do more, we may be losing our human connections.

Less might be a good strategy.
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Busy or Busy Being Busy?

The world keeps getting faster and we keep adding gadgets and technology to make it easier which gives us more reasons to stay busier and less time for each other.

I once had a boss who traveled the country to meet with managers but was never really in the city he was located in at the time. During our meetings, his face was buried in his smartphone. He would squirm in his chair. His eyes would dart back and forth. He pretended to pay attention. He couldn't sit still for a minute.

Wait a minute...

Then I realized that he answered my emails when he was elsewhere pretending to be present in that meeting. If you live on your smart phone, it becomes increasingly difficult not to telegraph to others you are ignoring their emails when you fail to respond.

Years ago, a friend moved to a much larger city. I asked him if he noticed the pace had increased and he simply said people seemed busier but he was unsure they were getting more accomplished.

Some wise words from Calvin of Calvin and Hobbes; "We're so busy watching out for what's just ahead of us that we don't take time to enjoy where we are."
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Use the Phone App

Since the dawn of human existence, we have been working to improve our lives. There are better tools, advanced medical procedures, cleaner water purification, improved supply lines, more advanced urban development, and enhanced communication tools.

We live in a time where there are more scientists alive than in any other time in history, combined. There are reports that the world’s population could reach 10-12 billion.

The Shrunken Globe

We can send complicated documents across the globe with the press of a thumb on our mobile device. Our ability to share ideas is now instantaneous. And we are attempting to digest more content every day than we can ever consume.

So it’s curious when we get stuck with how to reach new customers, find new collaborative partners, and share ideas with those who will want to work with us. It has become an embarrassment of riches in a time when patience is scarce. And perhaps that's what is causing more clutter than good?

The Best Social Network

We seem to be able to grow our personal and professional networks on the social web yet the question remains how much human connection is going on. One way is to utilize a handy app that is in every smartphone – the phone.

This may sound revolutionary but the more things get complicated the more we may need to simplify. And there is one way to make things far more simple.

Give them a call; you might be surprised what happens next.
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What Does This App Do?

Since the dawn of human existence, we have been working to improve our lives. There are better tools, advanced medical procedures, cleaner water purification, improved supply lines, more advanced urban development, and enhanced communication tools.

We live in a time where there are more scientists alive than in any other time in history, combined. There are reports that the world’s population could reach 10-12 billion.

The Shrunken Globe

We can send complicated documents across the globe with the press of a thumb on our mobile device. Our ability to share ideas is now instantaneous. And we are attempting to digest more content every day than we can ever consume.

So it’s curious when we get stuck with how to reach new customers, find new collaborative partners, and share ideas with those who will want to work with us. It has become an embarrassment of riches in a time when patience is scarce. And perhaps that's what is causing more clutter than good?

The Best Social Network

We seem to be able to grow our personal and professional networks on the social web yet the question remains how much human connection is going on? One way is to utilize a handy app that is in every smartphone – the phone.

This may sound revolutionary but the more things get complicated, the more we may need to simplify. And there is one way to make things far more simple.

Try the phone app; you'll surprise them all.
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Time Off. Phone Off.

It's summer in North America. The pace is a bit more friendly or collaborative or something I can't quite put said finger on. We are all still working hard but it feels less cumbersome when we don't have eight feet of snow to get through on our way to work.

And yes, we are all taking some time here and there to get a break. I've tried quite unsuccessfully not to check my phone for an entire day and lasted maybe a few hours. But wWhat would happen if you didn't check email for a day or attend a meeting tomorrow or not return that call until next week?

The sun will come up, life will go on, and in fact, you may even be more rested and sharper to deal with deadlines after some time away. So cheers to our vacation. We can reconnect when we get back.
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Utilizing the Phone App

Since the dawn of human existence, we have been working to improve our lives. There are better tools, advanced medical procedures, cleaner water purification, improved supply lines, more advanced urban development, and enhanced communication tools.

We live in a time where there are more scientists alive than in any other time in history, combined. There are reports that the world’s population could reach 10-12 billion.

The Shrunken Globe

We can send complicated documents across the globe with the press of a thumb on our mobile device. Our ability to share ideas is now instantaneous. And we are attempting to digest more content every day than we can ever consume.

So it’s curious when we get stuck with how to reach new customers, find new collaborative partners, and share ideas with those who will want to work with us. It has become an embarrassment of riches in a time when patience is scarce. And perhaps that's what is causing more clutter than good?

The Best Social Network

We seem to be able to grow our personal and professional networks on the social web yet the question remains how much human connection is going on. One way is to utilize a handy app that is in every smartphone – the phone.

This may sound revolutionary but the more things get complicated the more we may need to simplify. And there is one way to make things far more simple.

Give them a call; you might be surprised what happens next.
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A Connected World Less Connected

Anytime you walk into a business, it can be an interesting look into human behavior. There are people in meetings, typing on laptops, discussing a new project in the hall, drinking coffee, and maybe even having a laugh or two. It’s a peek into a subsection of society we call work. They say we spent a third of our lives in this space. It appears it's rapidly becoming more. We may not be "at work" but we seem to be spending a larger amount of time working, thinking about work, worrying about work, discussing work.

Our workspace is expanding physically as technology spreads it into homes and airports and has created an almost 24/7 culture where we are checking messages on smartphones at all hours to ensure we don’t miss anything. Instant responses are commonplace and our ability to always stay connected has become the topic of debate.

Need it Now

One hundred years ago, there weren't all these ways to stay in touch yet business was built, careers thrived, and relationships flourished. Media penetration has created the ability for us to connect with someone on the other side of the planet we may not have previously known. The explosion of social tools and electronic collaborative spaces have shrunk the earth to allow us to find like-minded people with the push of a thumb.

168 hours

As we create the appearance of a more connected world, we may be slowly losing the connection to ourselves and soon to each other. Snippets of half conversations, misspelled texts between meetings, skimmed over details of an upcoming project, all in the quest to do more and more and more.

More for less, more meetings, more email, more information, more activity. More everything. The week is the same length it was 200 years ago yet we are inundated with data constantly. This doesn’t mean it’s useful or valuable but it’s more to sift through. And while we try and do more, we may be losing our human connections.

In our quest to collaborate, we may be losing the plot.
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Kneale Mann | People + Priority = Profit

keystothepage

This Time of Year

Summer has arrived in North America where I live and the tone of client conversations is changing. People seem a bit more relaxed and happy. Void of data, I can assume after a long hard winter, most are looking forward to some vacation time, time to unplug, time for family and friends, time without deadlines and email.

I know I live a privileged life. Like you, I have plenty of challenges and setbacks, but if perspective is kept in clear view, it’s a pretty good ride. But if we don’t take time away from work, our work will suffer. If we don’t unplug and step away, we will burn out. And if we never take time for life, well, you know the result.

Turn it Off

What would happen if you didn't check email for a day or attend a meeting tomorrow or not return that call until next week? The sun will come up, life will go on, and in fact, you may even be more rested and sharper to deal with deadlines after some time away.

Now add in the feelings you get when you are about to take some vacation time or when you’re away enjoying that thing called life. That’s the imperative ingredient to bring back with your new suntan.

Now go enjoy some time off, you've earned it!
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Kneale Mann | Leadership Strategist, consultant, writer, speaker, executive coach facilitating performance growth with leaders, management, and teams.

forbes

The Disconnected Leader

I saw Warren Buffet along with his son and grandson on CNN last week. One of the richest humans on earth has sent exactly one email, drives a six year old car, and lives in the same Omaha, Nebraska home he and his family has lived in since 1957. Something to think about the next time we feel compelled to want the newest latest shiniest gadget.

Imagine we woke up tomorrow and there was no Internet, the smartphone had not been invented and there is no email. We have all those things but one idea we could try is to type less, turn off our toys more, and speak directly with humans rather than devices or channels. Mr. Buffett is worth more than $63 Billion. He may be on to something.

If we disconnect once in a while we may be amazed how connected we can become with each other.
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Kneale Mann | Leadership Strategist, consultant, writer, speaker, executive coach facilitating performance growth with leaders, management, and teams.

impowerable

Put the Phone Away

Marketers will tell you all about the overwhelming metrics on cell use. Conservative estimates say we will have more activated mobile devices this year than people living on the planet. We are using them to do just about everything in our lives and the time we spend on them increases with every passing day.

We’re in meetings sitting right beside each other mesmerized by that little screen in our hands. We’re checking email at stop lights. We’re ensuring we didn't miss something while we wait for our flight. Look around a public place and count the number of people not on their device. They are the endangered species.

I was having lunch with a client recently and he just about lost his mind because he forgot his phone at the office. And we wonder why we have disengaged employees, connections, and relationships. We're vacant in a connected world.

Charlene deGuzman forgot her phone and discovered something interesting.


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Kneale Mann | Leadership Strategist, consultant, writer, speaker, executive coach facilitating performance growth with leaders, management, and teams.

Charlene deGuzman

Do You Unplug?

It's summer in North America and millions are enjoying some time away. It's a chance to take in the warmer temps and spend some time with friends and family. It does the mind and body good to take a break from it all.

But with the exception of vacation or the odd sick day, when did you last spend an entire 24 hours completely unplugged? No technology, no meetings, no deadlines, just time to clear your head or as I suggest to all my clients - think time.

Reboot and Recharge

What would happen if you didn't check email for a day or attend a meeting tomorrow or not return that call until next week? The sun will come up, life will go on, and in fact, you may even be more rested and sharper to deal with deadlines after some time away.

Leadership is about delivery and results but in order to be sharp for the team, the project, and the company, we all need to step off the treadmill once in a while.

Something to not think about on your vacation.
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Kneale Mann | Leadership and Culture strategist, writer, speaker, executive coach engaging leaders, collaborative teams, and strong business results.

blissology

17 Things

Effective leadership is not about creating more noise and confusion, yet we can’t seem to help it. Our lives are packed with information and most of it isn’t important.

We attend meetings that create more meetings. We check our smartphones more often than we blink. We make everything top priority. We think multi-tasking is effective.

We over think every decision. We make easy things more complicated. We spend far too much time obsessing about yesterday and tomorrow. We wear busy like a badge of honour. And we leave very little time for ourselves.

Here are few ideas to get us out of that routine.

Don’t be available all the time. Let them be right. Take a think day. Sleep in. Be flexible. Take a long lunch. Shut off the computer for an entire day. Be out of the loop. Stop following other people’s dreams. Let someone else handle it. Listen to an hour of music without doing anything else. Have cereal for dinner. Go with our gut. Stop taking advice from negative people. Skip the meeting. Don’t be so hard on ourselves. Buy the shoes.

Then we can get back to the busy.

Kneale Mann

flickr

It Has to Go to Space!

One of the most watched videos online in the last few years is Louis CK on the old Conan O'Brien Show discussing the fact that we are the most technologically advanced era in history yet we’re miserable. Our collective impatience has gotten worse.

He covers wi-fi, ATMs, the miracle of human flight, and more. When using smartphones, we wonder why the signal is down or why it's taking so long to send a message. Louis says; “Give it a second! It has to go to space! What, the speed of light is no longer fast enough for you?” Been there? Done that?

C’mon Hurry Up!

His commentary points to a topic we discussed here recently. We have less patience than a three year waiting for her ice cream. We want it now, we want it to work, and we we may even look for a shortcut.

You see it with marketing campaigns that don’t garner instant results, new hires who aren’t up to speed in their first week, careers that aren’t moving as fast as we’d like, customers who don’t sign right away.

We're All The Same

I recently made a major purchase that took me three months to decide on. I’ve had prospects who have taken longer to get to a no or not right now. We want others to move fast, but we’re not always happy to reciprocate. Decades from now, we'll be complaining the newly invented gadget isn't working properly.

This isn't an era or technology issue. And it's often worse when you look to business culture and leadership. But we can learn to harness our impatience by managing realistic expectations before we begin and take breaks for perspective. We can have more open collaboration and look at how we can positively affect the situation rather than continuing to hope the situation morphs to our wishes.

Now if I could only get this stupid phone to work!

Kneale Mann

cbc

Too Busy For Each Other

Semi-Colon Closed Parenthesis

You are a busy person doing busy things. After all, the job description said you would have to work independently in a fast paced environment handling many duties at once with a calm demeanor. Emails come at you all day and you’re expected to respond to that urgent text you received last night at 9:37 during your one hour of television this week void of interruptions. The promise of a paperless world with a four-day work week has been replaced with much busyness and still no jet packs.

There are meetings and deliverables, research and decisions. And when you get a moment, you check on your social streams. You haven't tweeted in well over an hour and people may have commented on that article you shared on Google+. Your friends on Facebook want your thoughts on the best sushi in town and there hasn't been a fresh blog post on your site in almost whole two days.

Here's Where We Get into Trouble

We are so afraid to miss something we tend to skim over everything. You're probably doing it with this post. Our lives are 140 characters or acronyms on the smartphone. It's okay, they're busy too and we added that semi-colon and a closed parenthesis so they know we're kidding, right?

In your quest to stay on top of everything, shortcuts are taken and suddenly a friend contacts you through one of the eleven ways they can and mentions that your last response seemed a bit dismissive. Suddenly a dozen messages back and forth could have be more enjoyable and far less misunderstood with a phone call.

A Mile Wide and an Inch Deep

There is certainly no time to have a meaningful conversation, we are far too busy for that. And we wouldn't dare show up for that dinner engagement without our mobile device so we can check it half a dozen times before the appetizers arrive.

The tools are great yet we are missing the important nuances that come with human interaction. Tone and feel have been replaced by texts and tweets. Call a friend, meet in person and put the technology away for an hour. It's okay, the earth will continue to rotate. Then you can stop using busy as an excuse not to spend quality time with friends and colleagues.

Or perhaps you are far too busy for all that.

Kneale Mann

image credit: google
I'd be happy to spend 30 minutes with you on a complimentary introduction call
to see where I can help your business. Feel free to contact me via email and let's chat.

Taking It Offline

It's Really Not About The Tools

The absurdity is not lost that this question is posed online but have you ever spent an entire day without electronic communication tools? No cell, no email, no web for twenty-four hours. There are probably slower days like on the weekends when you’re not connected constantly, but this is a complete unplug. I call it a digital day off. And it may happen if you’re on vacation – especially camping – and what happened? Nothing. The sun still came up, the coffee still got brewed, you may have actually had a few more minutes for the important things, like people and yourself.

There are just over two billion of us online which represents about 30% of the world’s population and is 480% higher than the days of Y2K. There are 922 million people online in Asia which equals close to 24% of the continent’s population while North America sits at 272 million internet users or 78% of the entire populace.

The Better Toaster

We argue with great fervour over the health of Google+ versus Twitter or which smartphone operating system is superior. The content generated on how to better generate content is unrelenting. Yet all the while, people are going to work and school and raising their families and eating at restaurants.

It’s cool that we could – if we wanted to – check in through a geosocial network every time we cross the threshold of a retail location. In fact, if we’re lucky, we may become they mayor of the grocery store. And the black and while square on the side of the soup can gives us more information than we need.

These Times Are Always A-Changin'

Technology will advance, gadgets will be introduced, new interfaces will be launched yet once in a while, perhaps for just a moment, we should remember the key element in this thing called life – and that is us.

We can now find people who share our views and ideas all over the world. Those we can meet with the ease of interfaces and technology boggles the mind. But as we attempt to gain attention and any other metric, we shouldn't forget one element.

Perhaps we need to take it offline once in a while?

Kneale Mann

image credit: sightseeingreview

Is Marketing Really Necessary?

Marketing is the process by which companies create customer interest in products or services. It generates the strategy that underlies sales techniques, business communication and business development. Wikipedia

We can explain away our behavior. We can justify anything.We can even view marketing as an expendable item on the ledger. If you run a business there are certainties no matter the size of your company.

Ring Ring

You have to have some sort of phone system. It doesn’t have to be elaborate. It doesn't have to be wired to everyone’s smartphone, but you need phones.

Unless staff will be sitting on the ground, furniture is probably a good idea. It doesn’t have to be glass desks and Aeron chairs but you do need something to keep your stuff and your people off the floor.

Did You Get My Email?

You don’t need to get everyone a MacBook and Hermann Miller chairs but you need something that resembles computing devices to get the job done and apparently this Internet thing is quite the craze so you have costs involved in that service.

And there's also salaries, perhaps benefits, training, supplies, utilities, office space, running water, plumbing and other operational items.

Now What?

Assuming you have a great product or service and a business plan, you now have office space and people. But unless your company has self ringing phones, letting people know what you do is imperative to your success.

Marketing is more than advertising. It is how you cement relationships, build referrals and create long-term customers. It is in everything you do and is as essential as keeping the lights on.

Tighten Too Tight

Many have been through tight times and have had to look at ways to cut expenses. All too often the marketing budget is the first to see the knife. The perception is that it is money not yet spent - unlike phones, salaries, computers and furniture.

Imagine how your company would change if you didn't view marketing as a luxury, a channel or a department.  

Kneale Mann

image credit: chadestes
original post: Aug 2010

Are We Too Connected?

Check For Messages

I have a colleague I've known for years. Usually when we get together, we book something through email or Twitter direct message. I realized the other day I don't have his cell number but it's never been a barrier. We are in a world where the message is the medium and that represents a myriad choices. It's like any content we publish. It can go anywhere and we can't dictate where our clients, friends, colleagues or prospects will hang out.

I normally continue with whatever medium the original connection occurred. So if someone sends an email, the response is in an email etc. But how often have you crossed platforms during the same conversation? It starts with a DM, then moves to a call on your mobile device and then a Facebook email and finally to a text to confirm. We often just use whatever interface is handy at the moment we want to connect.

Never Ending Content

Estimates vary, but there are about 3 million emails sent every second and just over a trillion text messages each year in the U.S. alone. We have moved from a want-it-now environment to over-there-is-more-important-than-here world. If you own a smartphone, you may check it constantly. It has become the new bad habit.

You rarely see people walking out of a long meeting and not checking their device for emails and messages. We are checking at stoplights, on the sidelines at kids’ sporting events, during those five free minutes between meetings, first thing in the morning, last thing at night, we are constantly trying to connect. We might miss something.

This Just In...

You may be of the age that email has always been there. I am not. I remember the first time I started venturing online and having electronic mail. I also remember the first time I got a smartphone with the warnings from others that I would be addicted in about five minutes. It took three.

We are petrified to miss something that we take our connections on vacations. I saw someone checking email in the church at a wedding ceremony. We want to be in touch, respond to notes, set up meetings, share important information, get back to that guy.

How do we stay connected yet make better connections?

Kneale Mann

image credit: guardian.co.uk