At a dinner we attended over two years ago, Dennis made the comment, “IT is the way of the future.” My wife Lisa challenged that. She said, “IT is the way of the present. The question is how do we integrate the interpersonal into the digital age?” I suppose I could argue on either side, but it does make for a stirring debate, doesn’t it?
Check out this week’s vlog where Wayne analyzes some of the pros and cons of digital communications and makes the case that face-to-face interactions are still the best way to reach people’s hearts and minds. It’s inarguable that digital communications have made some things better and lots of things easier. Where do you come down? Please share your thoughts with us in the comments section.
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Definitely a plus in speed, efficiency, and reduction of paperwork but really a negative in building social skills and interacting with workers and customers. Your blog hit them all in my mind, but I feel it may be getting worse before it could get better. I want to be an optimist in all this since it provides great advancement for our industry but worry that it will leave us with cold non-communicating coworkers who become harder and harder to understand and deal with.
Our firm is trying more social events, free snacks in the office, and recognizing workers birthdays, anniversaries, etc. Time will only tell.
Thanks, Marv. Good luck with the new initiatives!
Great blog, Wayne. The importance of face-to-face interaction — and the relationships it affords — cannot be overstated nor will it be replaced by technology. Technology is great, and we have embraced it. Trust and confidence, however, require time and effort to blossom. While the time spent building these relationships may be less efficient (in the academic sense), it pays many more dividends — especially when the going gets tough.
Thanks, Jeff! I agree with your sentiments.