The Human Side of the Future?
People engagement in a tech-driven world
I am just back from China, where I got a glimpse of our tech future.
Credit cards are something of the past. Should you wish to give a little money to beggars, flash their QR code. Facial recognition is the new normal – up to toilet paper dispensers. On livestock farms, fitbits monitor countless chickens individually. Enter a concept clinic modeled after a cozy apartment, watch your reflection in a mirror, and you get a health report and dietary advice (the mirror is “intelligent”). Start-up incubators help entrepreneurs develop our food of tomorrow (?) – meat balls without meat and synthetic egg white for the baking industry – and all sorts of devices, many of which having the potential to disrupt entire industries.
The amount of data made available by sensors of all sorts is unfathomable. Tech-enabled social control seems almost desirable, when peer-to-peer surveillance tames a-social behaviors and contributes to collective tranquility. At the very same time, ongoing protests in Hong Kong were somehow balancing out the vision of a seamless tech-enabled order. No judgement here though. Having lived in Asia several years, I am wary of interpretations from the single filter of Western culture.
Nevertheless, my head ached the whole week from interrogations about the future, and ethics, and what is the right way forward.
Thought-provoking read
In addition, I was then finishing up reading Harari’s Homo Deus – I had prioritized other readings since it got published, but it finally came to me at a perfect time. There, in Shenzhen, where nothing seems be more than forty years old, where ebullient tech innovation affects the whole planet, I couldn’t help wondering about workplace and engagement leadership:
>> If work is to become widely automatized, jobs to be replaced by machines and algorithms… then is human engagement at work a waste of time? A preoccupation shortly about to become obsolete? An activity the rising “useless class” will remember with vague nostalgia, before it fades away from memories? Is it even ethical to work at increasing employee engagement, therefore contributing to more profits invested (if not spent in dividends) in tech and automation, ultimately putting people out of work?
>> If humanism is a “religion” – a social construct aimed at maintaining social order at scale – and individual free will an illusion or an impediment standing in the way of collective progress, is engagement a mere doctrine? A historically dated, Western culture-related practice promoted by evangelists like myself?
>> If the future of society is not shaped by the myths and social dynamics of the past, but by the problems and opportunities created by the new realities of tech, is it possible to stay relevant in the field of workplace culture without expert knowledge in robotics, algorithms, artificial intelligence, data-driven workforce management?
1, 2, 3… pitfalls
Back to China, for a minute. The reason for my trip was the senior executive group of one of the largest companies in the world. I was called to support their week-long leadership development experience and exploration of healthcare innovation. Through superbly designed activities and reflection, we were able to craft a desirable future while resisting three main pitfalls I often witness:
Indulge in an expert / elite mindset, consider that some are entitled to make decisions on behalf others who supposedly know less or are of less worth
Disconnect the human and the tech side of things, consider they’re two different (or opposed) topics;
Approach tech and engagement in a utilitarian perspective alone, consider both are just means to achieve certain goals.
Meaningful synergies between people and tech
In the (virtual) factory
Our future resides in meaningful synergies between people and tech. More specifically, when it comes to the workplace, between people engagement and digital technologies. To make them possible and, at the same time, avoid as much as possible negative unintended consequences (change’s most likely outcome among living systems), all those impacted by the future should get a chance to co-design it. It means business leaders and tech experts should not stir and design it all by themselves, but create the conditions for the active mobilization and contribution of the whole ecosystem.
What does it look like, in practice? Here is an example, coming from another (awesome) client of mine, a major cargo airline.
Challenge: A new algorithm will enable clients to book shipment online. It will change deeply the way cargo sales get done. Adoption among the 700 sales force worldwide is business critical.
What could be done: project management + process re-engineering + change management + communications
What is done instead: change leadership across the whole Sales’ digital transformation program, in a people-powered, tech-enabled approach. The sales staff themselves, together with their management, “shape the digital future rather than being shaped” by it (their words). Inspired by the Kotter change principles and digitally enabled by Beck et Al., the organization is now achieving so much more than the adoption of a new technology. It evolves relationships, information and identity within the system (Myron Rogers) and tremendously improves the quality of the collective. This increases sharply the individuals and the organization’s capacity to navigate successfully in a BANI world (Jamais Cascio). Evolving work and leadership this way transforms corporate culture into a massive performance booster.
Design principles
Field practice and real-life experience have shaped my approach of people-digital synergies in the context of transformation projects (originally as an in-house practitioner, now as an adviser to global organizations). I already shared my work principles from the perspective of change (One Human at a Time), leadership (Three Ways Social Media Makes You a Better Leader) or power (Digital Leadership at SocialNow). I will end up this post with design principles related to tech.
Caveat: of the elements that guide my interventions, none provides a definitive response to the questions I raised in the beginning of this post – which are probably too vast to be answered once and for all. Better keep thinking about these anyway.
However, here are some thoughts that guide my efforts for change and engagement in a tech-driven world:
1. How can tech connect people rather than divide or isolate? It is easy to believe that tech connects when it doesn’t. Under the guise of a well-meaning rhetoric, tech sometimes just pushes back people we don't want to see behind a device, a robot, or a keyboard and screen (painful customers, irritating patients, annoying employees – anyone getting in the way of productivity and the comfort of self-segregation). Beware technology as a hygienic barrier between “us” and “them”, that disconnects, segments and excludes. Sometimes, tech is not the best answer to a problem. Explore other options before coming up with a machine.
2. How do we keep in touch with customers as people, not just as data? Staying close to our customers as actual people, with real stories, experiences, emotions and expectations, is I believe the lifeline of engagement and performance. That’s real client-centricity, the one that positively impacts work culture and behaviors. So, don’t let tech replace direct, in-person, face-to-face (as per Levinas) regular contact with clients. And make sure leaders – not just front-line staff – have such opportunities. The “client on stage at our annual meeting” ritual is OK but far from enough. Now, how do you organize to make it happen at scale in your organization?
3. How do we cultivate the human skills needed in a tech-driven world? Tech everywhere doesn’t mean we can rely on logic alone to make decisions. I would even argue that, the more tech there is, the more human values and skills we need. Such as what? Compassion and empathy – to do good work that serves needs well, especially where tech affects the human experience (healthcare, retail, finance…). Courage to speak up and act for human values – to challenge corporate group think, resist cynics and leader bullies, create opportunities for all to shape the future. Also, the courage to change one’s habits and open up to new (social, digital…) ways of working. Collaboration – Enough of territorial, scarcity mindset. The new world made possible by technology deserves and demands bridge-building minds and hearts to succeed together.
What do you think? Get in touch!
To go further:
Touch: Digital crafts, by Anne McCrossan
Listen: Immersive music, by Ozark Henry
Read: The Day After Tomorrow, by Peter Hinssen
Read more: Chronicles for the Digital Human, by Anne McCrossan (yes! The ceramic artist cited above)
Watch: Living an Examined Life | The Neo-Generalist Way. Kenneth Mikkelsen at TEDxChennai (just released!)
Taste (at your own risk 😊) Not quite digital food, but 11 real Sci-Fi recipes!