Higher Tech (Part 1)

September 2, 2004

We have all used the term high tech at one time or another, but there is a new term I have coined that is far more powerful; higher tech.

Technology-driven change comes to us and at us very well disguised: savior, enemy, innovator, disruptor, blessing, and curse. This article aims to unmask high technology and reveal its real face – yours.

That’s right. It’s not the tools that are all-important; it’s what you do with them. My goal is to make technology work for you, with you and in synch with your own best interests. Together, we’ll go beyond the bells and whistles, exasperating complexity, and amazing power and ingenuity of high tech. Beyond because standing still means falling behind. Remaining unchanged momentum, technology-driven change still lacks one thing: a steering wheel. And that’s where you come in. It is imperative that high tech remain the servant of humankind’s inherent genius for figuring out what our newest tools could do, what they should do and, most importantly, what they must do.

Could do leads off because change has changed. In the 1980’s and 1990’s, modern technology gave us access to vast realms of possibility nearly unimaginable just a generation or two ago. Instead of taking several decades to phase in major changes, gradually adjusting to the new reality, we ricochet wildly from one new thing to the next. The potential seems almost infinite. Confronted by too many choices, we’ve become ruled by disruption, unable to decide whether what we could do is something we actually should do. “Just do it” became the mantra and edict.

Ignore for now the value judgments that are beginning to slither around underfoot. Obviously, should do has moral content and context, but it also possesses an intensely hard headed, practical side as in, “What should be done for the sake of the organization’s future, its bottom-line, and continued growth?” Or “What should be done in the best interest of our customers, our workers, our community and ourselves?” Instead, could do sweeps everything away with its preemptive, barrier-busting machismo. Decisions are made, resources allocated and actions taken that are not weighed against a higher should do standard. Meanwhile, must do - the highest standard of all – gets even shorter shrift. Without the missing middle (should do) rung on the ladder of priorities, the top rung is unattainable. Lost in the process is the guiding light of true and compelling self-interest. If we can’t determine what we must do, then could do triumphs for better or worse. Disruptive technology-driven change becomes the norm. Bristling with firepower, could do first prevails in the battle with should do; then cuts off and conquers must do to win the war.

I can’t (and won’t ) tell you what you must do – you’ll know it when you see it. My purpose is to help you look beyond technology’s seductive could do’s. A few moments ago, I mentioned humankind’s inherent genius for figuring out what our new tools could, should and must do. Inventing the wheel. Building the pyramids. Landing on the moon. Mapping the human genome. It is a great gift that we still possess, yet we need to act quickly to rescue the beleaguered higher should and must do standards before the accelerating momentum of technology-driven change destroys them.

A series of small, simple and deliberate steps can ensure that we don’t lose control of our tools.Developing new rules that take into account the tools’ strengths and weaknesses and balances them against our needs and desires, will allow us to maximize their potential and minimize painful adjustments. This process, however, isn’t instantaneous or automatic. Much of the frustration and outright failure attributed to so-called “disruptive change” is a measure of how challenging it is to make the transition to new rules that are appropriate to new tools. There’s a tendency to straddle the old and the new, or to match the right new tool with the wrong old rule. Even worse is a stubborn refusal to rethink business models and methodologies.

The status quo is no longer a safe haven.
Now that the high-tech genie is out of the bottle, can we cram the wily magician back in there? No way. And that’s fine by me. Higher tech has such enormous promise it’s worth a little extra effort to get the kinks out. To help explain what higher tech is, I’ll borrow and paraphrase Intel’s famously successful slogan and logo. Higher tech has people inside.

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