Buzzes, Beeps and Ring Tones
Its very important to play with
new toys - no matter how old you are! Many of the HR Doctors
favorite toys involve electronics. Of course, it helps to be
alive in the 21st century when there is both electricity and
an ample supply of computer, audio and video gadgets emerging
almost weekly. The penchant some of us display for early
adoption of technology is expensive of course, but also
enjoyable.
Personal
and professional productivity can be enhanced by being able to
sit at a desk during a "meeting" while communicating with
people you care about in the family or are colleagues within
the work family from hundreds or thousands of miles away. It
is great to be able to log into the BBC World News on a
"smart" phone or a computer any time to see whats going on in
nearly every corner of the world. What a powerful education
tool for all of us to embrace and to share with our
children!
There are at least four major
caveats and dangers which come right along with being a
technophile. The first is that spending so much time with
excited electrons inevitably reduces the amount of time that
you spend with excited human beings. The hours a day spent
watching television, playing video games, logging into the
Internet or watching DVDs takes away hours that could be spent
interacting with others during quiet dinners with the
neighbors, being part of a charitable organization like a
Rotary Club, going to concerts or, primitive though it may
seem, actually reading one of the small rectangular paper
objects known as books.
The
second danger is that gadgetry can be addictive. The
compulsion to bid on everything remotely interesting on e-Bay,
or the lure of the "one click" purchase icon on
amazon.com, can be overwhelming. It will likely result
in large federal grants in the future, probably through the
Department of Homeland Security, to create therapeutic
organizations throughout the nation known as "AA" ("Amazon
Anonymous") or "e-Bay anonymous."
The
third caveat is expense. At the individual level, trying to
keep up with the "chip of the week" is unaffordable. Even Bill
Gates might have a problem keeping us if his R&D endeavors
werent tax deductible!
The
conundrum is that keeping up with technology in the modern
world and being comfortable with it is necessary for our kids
success, our own positive work, retirement, life experiences,
and understanding what is happening in the world. On the other
hand, the cost can swamp a personal budget, and send precious
organizational resources down a frustrating and highly
expensive black hole.
Admit it colleagues, when was the
last time you or the agency were satisfied with the outcomes
promised by marketing vendors when a large information system
change occurred? When was the last time the project came in on
time and on budget?
Beyond the expense and the risk
of addiction lurks a fourth caveat. This one actually is both
a danger and great opportunity. It is the rising expectations
which go along with technologys forward leaps. With a greater
speed of communication comes an expectation that we will
always be able to communicate! Remember the first days of the
dial-up modem, when we would sit patiently for perhaps hours
listening to strange electronic noises while telephone dial-up
connections were made and small files were downloaded or
transferred in geologic time?
Today, however, when the cable TV
goes out even for a few minutes, when the satellite antenna is
blocked by the frequent Florida monsoons, or when the "network
is down," we get exasperated and impatient. We demand a higher
level of service tailored to meet our expectations that
everything be "on demand."
The
revolution in rising expectations means that people may forget
how to do research, may rely on Web sites that are of
questionable accuracy, and may have expectations at work and
at home that are unrealistic. With the greater speed of
communications comes spam, telemarketers, pop-up ads and junk
mail. With the wonders of Internet access come greater risks
of identity theft or pedophile access to our children through
chat rooms.
We
sacrifice privacy and calm reflection for the capability of
having the phone ring in the middle of a library or even in a
pristine redwood forest. The substitution of intrusion on
demand or not on demand is hardly a victory when the "loser"
is our privacy and our ability to be undisturbed.
The
conundrum of technology in our lives increases the volume of
whining at work and at home. It contributes to many difficult
days ahead in trying to run a school system, a hospital, a
city, county, state or nation. The MP3 player or cell phone
stuck in our ears blocks out learning, listening and, in
effect, "living!" Thats the diseaseÉ whats the
treatment?
Resist technology for its own
sake. Resist the temptation to upgrade the "system" or to
acquire one in the first place without an "environmental"
impact review. That assessment of the work environment with
and without the changes will look at the likelihood of
over-expenditure, system delays and staff
frustrations.
It
will weigh these against the value of the venture and any
other reasonable alternatives, such as cost sharing/system
sharing with another local agency. Yes, sharing our toys can
be a very good thing to do! At least that way the decision can
be made based upon a more full disclosure and consideration of
the risks.
There is a final treatment
recommendation from the HR Doctors experience and from the
pages of the authors new book, Dont Walk by Something
Wrong! (available through Amazon.com, ironically
enough). This recommendation is emphatic! When a technology
decision is pending - at your home or at the office -
dont make the decision without first going for a walk in a
forest. Make that a walk with the cell phone turned
off!
May
all your beeps and ring tones bring you joy!
Phil Rosenberg The HR
Doctor http://www.hrdr.net/
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