Have some ‘De-Digitalized Dialogues’
These days, it seems like we are glued to
our screens. First we did spend many hours per day in front of the TV. Then we
were (mostly for work) tied to terminals and PC’s. And since the introduction
of smartphones, it looks like we are inseparable – the screen and me. Whether
we are sitting in the train, biking, attending a seminar or having a coffee, we
are always staring at the screen.
It looks like that the ‘good-old’ dialogue,
where you have eye contact and are focused on the conversation itself and your
partners, are disappearing fast. While I will certainly not deny the benefit of
always being able to connect to the Internet, we are at the same time missing
something. We miss the real (and sometimes emotional) connection with other
human beings. This connection is crucial to understand the other persons. And interpersonal
sensitivity is not easily transferred via the screen.
We do need to look each other into the eyes
to get to know each other.
This is especially important for
innovation. In a face-to-face meeting you will create a constructive and open
atmosphere, which will speed up the process of coming up with great ideas and
solutions. It becomes easier to build upon each other’s suggestions.
However, these meetings, or de-digitalized
dialogues as I like to call them, need to be planned. You need to carefully
bring the right people into the room, without the screens. I don’t believe that
Marissa Mayer’s new policy (no working from home anymore) for Yahoo, will work
as intended. You will not meet the right people by accident in the corridor. Or
that is at least highly unlikely.
You need to plan these regular de-digitalized
dialogues. When are you planning your DDD?
Enthusiasm drives Excellence!