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Why your business should create a human technology manifesto for 2014

By Martin Talks

January 7, 2014 | 5 min read

No sooner have you got to grips with smartphones when along comes wearable technology. No sooner built an audience on Facebook and Twitter when along comes Snapchat and Whisper. No sooner invested in a Group-wide software licence, when a better option is launched at a fraction of the cost.

Martin Talks

And do you have strategies for robots, drones and Google Glass?

Most businesses don't really know what value their branded app adds, how to get their staff to adopt the systems they make available or what their Facebook fans are really worth, never mind what technology they should be considering in the next five years. Even those who have a technology strategy would acknowledge that it was out of date by the time the printer ink dried.

2013 was full of stories of disruptive online approaches sweeping away old business models. To name just a few: Blockbuster, Jessops and Dreams, all swept away by leaner online competitors. Even the giant phone company Nokia finally admitted defeat with a Microsoft deal and BlackBerry's decline seems unstoppable.

So how does a business keep up?

The answer is simple: it doesn't.

The good news is, it doesn't have to.

Don't be fooled by the tech monoliths and proprietary software sellers. We are now in an age of open source technologies, the cloud and the crowd - it's all OSOCLOCRO… (ahem...). New technologies are launching thick and fast, can be almost instantly adopted, are intuitive and talk to other technologies with increasing seamlessness. Anyone can compete with you, and you can compete with anyone. Technology doesn't have to drive how you do business and it won't ensure you outperform competitors.

Yes, you can take your business online, negotiate leaner supply chains or replace your workers with robots. But no, it won't give you a sustainable competitive advantage over your competition as they can do the same. So what should a business do?

The big revolution in technology and communications of recent times has been the power of connectivity. Systems talk to other systems, the Internet of Things means objects talk to other objects and social media has enabled talking on a global scale. The power of connectivity is the real advantage that businesses need to grasp. And the most powerful connection your business can make in 2014 is to people – your customers, staff, suppliers. That will give you a sustainable advantage. Connections build trust, give you stand out, encourage advocacy and loyalty. Technology can really help to provide the platforms to make those human connections. But building meaningful connections is a human quality.

It's time to reconsider your business relationship with technology. Businesses don't need a technology strategy that is so quickly out of date, they need a technology philosophy, a Technology Manifesto. A manifesto to cope in a fast change world. A manifesto rooted in age-old certainties, not in the latest gadget or social media platform. A Human Technology Manifesto.

The human brain has not fundamentally changed in over 100,00 years. Sure we can make and break brain connections, but at a fundamental brain level we are all still cavepeople subject to the same desires, drivers and instincts as we always have been. Technology hasn't changed this. Indeed it has reconfirmed this. What is Facebook, if not a camp fire to share stories around? The businesses that succeed in the fast change technology world will take a much more human-friendly approach to technology and avoid some of the more toxic practices.

The cornerstone of any Human Technology Manifesto should be that technology will be aimed to enrich the human experience. This can be fleshed out with other principles appropriate to your business, such as technology will:

  1. encourage people to look up, not look down
  2. enhance human contact, not remove it
  3. help customers meet their implicit goals
  4. take people with you, not leave them behind

With a Human Technology Manifesto, backed up with your specific business filters, new technologies can be quickly and effectively ruled in or out for further consideration. You will be able to stop worrying about keeping up with the competitors and think more about how your business ensures it is making real human connections. And real human connections will bring you business success.

As early as possible in 2014, businesses should reappraise their relationship with technology and create their own Human Technology Manifesto.

Martin Talks (@talksy) runs www.digitaldetoxing.com with the mission to create the optimal relationship between online and offline

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