Never Say Never

Technology: n. (pl.-ies) the study or use of the mechanical arts and applied sciences

Such is the listing in The Concise Oxford Dictionary – not very concise I thought to myself! It doesn’t say it’s the one word in the entire dictionary that changes our lives, nor does it say it sends a shiver up the spine of 90% of us when mentioned. It doesn’t even suggest the huge upheaval it creates in all aspects of our society. It just seemed odd to me that the word “technology”, so powerful in our lives, received just a single line of obscure meaning. Interestingly enough the very next two listings in the dictionary (well my edition anyway!) happen to be:

Technophile: n & Adj. an enthusiast about new technology

Technophobe: n. a person who avoids new technology

So are you the phile’ or the phobe’. Truth is most of us sit well and truly in the middle, according to recent surveys at least! Apparently there are very few of us who love it and very few of us that hate it but the real problem is our often slowness to accept new technology. We have developed a certain wariness to change and the more common approach to technology has been “ we will wait and see”. Over the years the phrase “risk adverse” has been well and truly drummed into many of us but when it comes to technology we have to take a more bold approach and get a little more momentum going! I believe in New Zealand we have slipped somewhat in keeping up to date with technology, we were once known as the “early adopters” in many quarters but I don’t think that is the case any more.

Now and then I come across real technophobes, actually I think they exist purely to remind us of the progress we have made. On one occasion, following the death of my mother I needed to visit her solicitor and undertake the necessary legal arrangements. I stepped back in time! Okay this was in the heart of provincial New Zealand, but it was just 10 months ago. From the 1940’s style waiting room I could hear tap tap tap of something I had not heard for many years, were my ears deceiving me, was it the surroundings playing tricks with me. Indeed not, upon observation the receptionist was using, with great dexterity, a 1940’s Imperial manual typewriter. How cute I thought. It fits perfectly with the environment. When I asked “why are you still using an old-fashioned way of writing letters?” the answer was staccatoed back, “ We prefer to be more traditional here”. Blimey I thought, if they wanted to be traditional they should really be using quill and ink. Of course what followed was a series of very traditional displays of process and representation right through to presentation of the account, however the fees were reflective of the modern age! Throughout my dealings with them I felt strangely uneasy, thinking it’s alright to be “traditional” but I wonder if they know what they are doing. In the end they did a good job. BUT would I want to have them as my solicitor, would I feel comfortable they were “on to it” could I trust them to spot the finer points of a business contract. Sadly but correctly the answer is no! Why…..confidence! My perception was if they are not prepared to keep up with technology how could I trust them with my business. My point is perception is everything, technology and adoption of it into your business plays a huge role in this. Like it or not if you create a perception of tardiness with the adoption of technology your clients will not see this as “risk adverse” they will simply perceive you are not up to the play.

Now of course you have the other end of the spectrum, the way out there technophile with every known gadget installed and fixed to their person. This can be scary as when you meet an extreme technophile they seem more enthusiastic about showing you the technology than actually using it to your advantage. Actually my trust in such a person takes a huge knock and I am left thinking “they are just too smart for my good”!

As with all things a balance is best. But the calibration of the balance needs to be weighed toward being a technophile rather than a technophobe. What helps to keep your “needle” wavering more toward being a technophile is being informed. The saying that “information is the key to success” is ever so true in respect to keeping up to date. Over recent years I have been lucky enough to be part of the Institute of Chartered Accountants professional development program, having run short courses about technology and in the early days of internet introducing members to power of the internet. From my observations members of ICANZ are very well catered for through the professional development program and while other business associations, institutes and societies run similar programs it seems to me ICANZ are head and shoulders above others in this area. Clearly ICANZ members have a platform to be leaders in technological changes. Being aware is only half the story you have to do it as well. Something to do with horses and water I think!

The so called experts say we have just embarked on the Technology Age (as if we need an expert to tell us that you say!). But what is amazing is the same experts tell us that we have only just started this age, five years into it apparently. It will last for about 30 years. When we look back in time roughly speaking the ages of modern civilisation can be classified as Nomadic, Agricultural, Industrial and now the Technological. The previous ages spanned tens of decades if not hundreds of years yet this age is expected to last just three decades. An interesting theory and who can be sure anyway. The one thing you can be sure of is the rate of change will increase and the tools we marvel at today will make it to museum shelves a lot quicker than before.

It’s the pace of change that often catches us by surprise, computers are leading the way here, doubling in capacity and speed every 18 months. Actually if we applied the same rate of change experienced with computers over the past 10 years to the motor vehicle industry we would all have brand new $500 cars that could travel from Auckland to Wellington in less than 60 minutes on two litres of petrol! The interesting observation is that technological changes occur at different paces for different industry sectors, the one common element that affects us all is the pace of change with computers, both with hardware innovation and software development. We therefore need to be highly motivated and acutely aware of these changes and the benefits they bring. All this is fine you say but “I have a business to run as well” and keeping up-to-date is almost impossible. It is if we do nothing about it. So be a passionate technology student and learn something new every day. I have been using a simple process for 18 months now that works extremely well. I call it my up-skilling time. Everyday I set aside just ten minutes to focus on learning something new. Often it involves an aspect of Microsoft software, sometimes it has been learning more applications of my PDA and on other occasions it has been understanding additional functions of my mobile phone. What ever it is it must be upskilling and you have to be dedicated. It works for me and I know by doing this I am taking better advantage of the technology I have got. I have learnt so much this way and it has had the added advantage of making me more aware of advances as they become available.

We need to do better than we have ever done before in opening our minds and accepting the changes that technology delivers. Structure our businesses to be nimble and be prepared to embrace technology that will deliver improved performance. If we choose to be a mere observer our businesses will without doubt decline to a point of nonexistence.

We must teach ourselves never to say never in respect to technology and change.

An editorial by Grant Sidaway, SeniorNet