On a recent trip to Florida, I encountered two very interesting
Uber drivers. Each was a pleasant and conscientious customer-focused guy. I always
love to engage people I meet about business and in particular, their work. I
like to hear the stories of success, failures, and dreams for the future. Both
of these gentlemen gave me a lot of information on those topics during our
brief exchange during our transit through Gainesville. I’ll call them Uber 1
and Uber 2 although Uber was not their identity it was their stopgap job during
these uncertain times.
Uber 1 drove a very nice black Lincoln. When I asked him how he became a driver he explained that driving an Uber on the weekend was nothing more than escape from home. Fearing he might launch into describing an unhappy marriage or domestic problem, he quickly explained that his regular job was that of an IT problem solver and troubleshooter for a large company. Because of Covid, he is now required to work from home and the inability and opportunity to interact with people was driving him nuts. He told me “I don’t need the extra money, but I absolutely must connect with other human beings and this was an excellent vehicle for that opportunity." (See what I did there?)
Uber #2 was an Engineer whose company experienced a severe cutback in personnel due to loss of business since the pandemic. He described to me that as a father, needing to provide for his family (including 5 kids), “I’ve got to do something to put food on the table”… He went on to describe how technology has all but locked him out of the job market. In frustration, he told me “HR departments won’t give me a chance to show the kind of guy I am or the value I can provide. All they look at is the on-line resumes. If they contact me at all, they tell me I’m overqualified. I know that! But I’ve got to feed my family. I can’t get a face-to-face interview with anyone! It’s so frustrating!”
As a business professional who has delivered speeches and taught classes around the world, I know the power of live feedback from the audiences and robust dialogue with differing opinions. Zoom calls and meetings, virtual sales presentations, or staff reviews can NEVER have the same impact as in-person communication.
I read recently that McDonald's is exploring a new drive-through experience by replacing inside dining with robots who will take your order as you pass the drive-through window and a conveyor belt system that will then deliver your meal to your car.
Will it be efficient? Sure. Will it be a cost-saver for the company? Absolutely.
Big tech already has a substantial influence on just about every aspect of our lives. In addition to automation, big tech methods have flooded our computers and social media with advertisement, marketing, and now monitor “speech” determining what is deemed acceptable and what must be censored.
My granddaughter is a member of her high school debate team which I fear is a futile exercise. The increasingly open and free debate has become unacceptable by particular groups in the public square and is becoming a thing of the past. Her debate team will no doubt benefit from exercising her mental capacity by viewing issues from different perspectives, but she best not try expressing those opinions in real life. Having an opposing opinion on the wrong side of a political persuasion will be detrimental and won't be tolerated. The "speech police" are listening.
EVERYTHING has become political. Speech control will ultimately lead to thought control. And this control will/is permeating our education, political, and business institutions.
As real and tragic as Covid is, it has become sadly, a means of population control and speech control and is accelerating big tech's domination over human interaction. Communication freely expressed differences of opinion, has been part of what has made American enterprise so successful and we may be in danger of losing it.
I’ve witnessed firsthand speech and thought control and the effects on people in Eastern Europe and Russia which continues to paralyze every system with-in those countries at some level even today. It’s beginning to look the same in our country. Just observe for yourself as you walk through businesses, your Wal-Mart store, or down the streets of certain cities in the U.S.. It all reminds me of Pink Floyd’s video “Another Brick in the Wall”. I've seen those same faces on the streets of Moscow, and unfortunately, I’ve seen those faces in manufacturing firms and corporate offices throughout the U.S.
One of the questions we must ask is will artificial intelligence change what it means to be human? Have we lost the capacity to be curious about people? Have we abandoned the art/skill of listening for understanding? Have we cooped our lives to government restrictions on movement for social or business gatherings? Will there be no end to algorithms determining what to buy, who to love (see on-line dating sites), or who to hire through HR software? Will we continue to stop thinking but rather give our minds over to social media, university professors, cable news, government officials, and artificial intelligence to do it for us?
Neil Postman, Amusing Ourselves to Death observed.....
“Orwell warns that we will be overcome by externally imposed oppression. But Huxley’s vision, no Big Brother is required to deprive people of their autonomy, maturity, and history. As he saw it, people will come to love their oppression, to adore the technologies that undo their capacities to think”
So is it too late? Probably, but you and I can delay it some.
This is for the American business community. Keep in mind one important fact. America IS exceptional. It
has always been exceptional from its beginning. It is still described as a
great experiment because no other nation can fully duplicate what we’ve done. Nations still want to know how we built the largest economy in the world and are still looking to what we do next.
Knowing that and fighting for that will help keep us from becoming “one more brick in
the wall” of groupthink through globalization.
The following are suggestions on how to do that..
1. The overarching requirement for success is building relationships. It’s Relationships First, then success. I’ve been preaching this for 30 years and have shown people and institutions how to do it.
2. Get back on the road and contact your customers! Search for new ones. Most of your competitors will be stuck behind their Zoom screen. People are starving for human interaction. No advanced technology can replace or have a greater impact than employees with customers.
3. Maintain a vibrant means of getting opinions and suggestions for improvements from customers and employees. (and please, don’t use computerized survey’s) Go TALK to people!
4. Voice your opinion in city hall meetings, the PTA, church, and let others do the same.
5.
Before embracing additional technology consider
the cost.
For many years I've discussed with my clients COI (The Cost of Improvement) and EC (Error Cost or if you will, the cost of doing the wrong thing). Although most of our calculations dealt with financial considerations, there are some things that do not have an immediate monetary equation. Give consideration to what you will lose by purchasing the next artificial intelligence system i.e. will we lose the soul of our company, will we lose what it is to be human.
In future blog articles, I will expand the challenges and remedies necessary for abating the death of America.
Don’t let yourself or your organization become just "Another Brick In The Wall”….. Rather, do your part to ensure that you and your institution.....
Finish Well
