Always on

“Turn off the TV.” “Turn off the device.”

There was a time when you “turn on” or you “turn off” something.

Today we are living in a world that is totally different from the one we lived in just a few decades ago.

I find myself having the television always on tuned in to the business news serving as my ambient sound while I do stuff in my home. Many friends of mine could not sleep without the TV noise in their background “lullabying” them to slumber.

Young people could not really focus on their studies without music piped into their headsets as they hide under their hoodies. You and I are living on an “always on” economy. And that is why we are always distracted.

Multi-tasking gives you the false illusion that you are achieving more and more but you are actually accomplishing less and less. Simple rule here is that the more you talk to your colleagues, the greater productivity you get out from them. Ideas emerge from face meetings.

It has been my observation that many young people today may be seated beside each other but they just fire off emails or SMS or other forms of digital platforms as their way of conversing with each other. And then they face each other they freeze and lack the skills to communicate. This is not a good thing.

When there is a lack of face meetings within your people then there is the loss of complexity and depth for their conversations, missing out opportunities for idea generation.

No matter how efficient emails are, they simply transport the transactional; forces questions and get answers and simply lead to an exchange of information and nothing more.

Earlier generations are comfortable with face-to-face meeting. They look forward to it. Face to face conversations include the nuances of the facial expressions, the body languages and gestures that make conversation more meaningful. But the younger generation now may have a “fear” of it. They say “they don’t have time…” which is not really the case.

Some young people claim that they would rather communicate “On Line” since they are “Always On” anyways… but the more honest among them would say they are afraid of actual face-to-face conversations because they are afraid of what they might say and they have no way of editing it. So the fear factor here is the loss of control once the words are said.

Today, it is extremely easy to connect but is so difficult to talk. There are connections but there is no conversation. But to converse we must.

The one thing I remind myself is that I may be busy and that can be pretty impressive but the truthful question I need to ask myself is am I making meaningful progress? I may have worked on hundreds of emails I get everyday, read and answered all the post on my Facebook friend’s page but that is no guarantee that I am productive.

On the contrary, when you see teams enjoying each other’s company in the pantry or having sips of coffee discussing things that in some outmoded hard-nosed executives that belong to another era may question them as to why they are not in their workplaces working?

He or she may have just missed out on the reality that the most productive activities are happening right there at that moment when ideas are being exchanged and challenged.

Parents should train their kids to converse. Business organizations should provide training on the art of meaningful conversation and encourage the young knowledge workers to share their ideas and knowledge through inter-active conversation away from their screens but face-to-face.

Leaders should instigate meaningful conversation with their direct reports and not just fire off emails or “posts” venting their emotions and frustrations but to engage their people in meaningful conversations.

This “Always On” environment is now a basic human need as technology propels us to another massive disruption caused through the acceleration of change. But old-fashioned conversation still is a must and should be encouraged.

So stock up on your coffee supply, remodel your pantries, provide food not just for thoughts but for the body too and let those ideas fly.

(Bring your leaders to Makati Shangri-La Hotel and experience two inspiring days of leadership training with Francis Kong in his highly acclaimed and updated Level Up Leadership this March 29-30. For registration or inquiries contact April at +63928 559 1798.)