Life has certainly changed in the last few years. The ability to communicate has risen to an all time high with the ability to communicate 24 hours a day—which seems to consume most people. We used to be impressed with the ability of landline phones to connect to each other. Then we moved to emails—a fast way to simultaneously get more details in the hands of more people. Now, it’s texting, which is not a bad way to have brief interaction—and don’t forget Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn. Does this add up to too much TECHNOLOGY?

We seem to have lots of ways to communicate, but what I see is really the lack of communication—sound bites—not an improvement of communication. We have forgot how to “TALK” to each other, how to build relationships both personal and business. We have forgotten that real business interaction comes from the development of relationships and that face-to-face communication allows us to read facial expressions and body language that often support or negate attitudes of the people with whom we are talking. The quick keyboard communiqués often end up as none productive, because we often spend more time typing out dozens of messages/replies that take too much time and maybe aren’t really getting our messages across.

I find it quite disrespectful and honestly—rude—when trying to talk with people who are read emails or text during our conversation or a meeting. I’ve been in situations where someone is doing a presentation and half of the people in the room have their heads down reading or replying during the presentation—ignoring the request to shut off the phones and devices. Maybe the meeting has no value for some who are in attendance, but I am sure something can be learned. We need to make it clear that texting during someone else’s time to communicate verbally is just plain rude! What kind of drug is this?

Here’s a scenario that illustrates how detrimental media interruptions may be. A person calls a meeting with the boss regarding something that needs immediate, undivided attention—maybe the boss even requested some data. But as person is presenting the information in the office, an email on the boss’s computer dings. The boss’s attention is diverted to the screen. Even though the diversion is quick it sends the message that something is more important than the discussion at hand. It may seem like an innocent reaction, but the person who called the meeting may leave the meeting mad. If this were an ongoing pattern with the boss and emails, it would be easy to develop an attitude that “if the boss doesn’t care about this, neither do I.”

Through the years I have “management by wandering around” (MBWA), but I have noticed that some folks practice “management by walking away.” You know, walking away from the issues at hand and assuming that an email, text, will replace interaction and the mechanical opportunities of problem solving.

I heard about a leasing company that grew quickly and turned upside down with style that turned a stagnant, non-producing company into a successful one that prided itself on providing customer service. However, somehow the corporate structure and control overwhelm the course of margins. The company adopted a myriad of programs— Harvard-type method of curing problems, six something, fish boning, root cause failure analysis, benchmarking, budgeting, etc. These initiatives resulted in cost-cutting methods—to the point of cutting staff and probably morale. The end result was that talent and expertise lost value and in the corporate management style that relied that called for quick action and change.

Interestingly, this corporation—with many trucks and many locations—has turned to MBWA, which has allowed it to slow down on the emails and other device communication. It now requires its regional managers and shop leaders to get out from behind their desks, spend time on the floor, visit customer locations, walk the yards, observe. They have gone back to basic maintenance and fact-to-face communication, talking to the people, opening their eyes, finding and solving problems and using communication technology as a tool, not an excuse! My advice, do not be an addict of communication technology, bridge the human gap with real communication.

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