The past weekend was tons of fun for me as I got to see a dear friend of mine for a movie and late lunch. She travels almost every week for her corporate position so when she is in town, it is a joy to get together. One of the things she told me was the amount of emails that she had received … over 3,000! Yikes! Can’t remember if that was in a day (which I believe it was) or in a week. Does it really matter? Could you literally read, decide and respond to that many emails?
How do you function in any business (corporate or business owner) when you’re overwhelmed by that much information?
“According to a recent Gallup poll … 70% of employees are not engaged at work.” Could this be because email, IM and texting have become the norm for the way business is done?
For me, I love talking. So picking up the phone to talk with people is exactly what I do. When I call people it surprises them that they are not sure what to do with the live voice on the other end. Since I am in the business of transformation … helping people to reconnect heart in business & life … it is so me to pick up the phone, meet people for coffee or even Skype. I do this so I can see the person … to get that real connection beyond an email or a text.
I remember being in the corporate world with all the information thrown my way and the need to respond in a timely manner. Even then I got out from behind my computer & desk to talk live with people that were in my office. Others that were not, I picked up the phone. I made the human connection. What I learned from this was that people want to be heard and want to know they are not “out there” alone. And that you care.
Being the CEO of my own business, I find that it can get lonely behind the computer … making connections only through LinkedIn, Facebook or email responses. Yes, it can be easier to do that or it seems that way. Most of the time it creates more work than is necessary. Think about it. You want to meet with someone. You send a type of message (LI, FB, text, or email) back and forth, back and forth, back and forth until the meeting has been set. Think about how much time has been generated behind that process of connection versus picking up the phone to talk.
To me, technology is killing our human connections … in the workplace and in our families. When I am in creation mode for my business having my time spent with just me, I pity the poor sole that I talk with next. Why? Because I basically “throw-up” on them rambling on & on talking to hear myself talk. Luckily this happens with a dear friend and not a prospective client … whew!
There is a saying by Virginia Satir, a respected family therapist, “We need four hugs a day for survival. We need eight hugs a day for maintenance. We need twelve hugs a day for growth.”
Substitute “hugs” for “live connections” in the above quote … those handshakes, pats on the back, etc. Based on this, there are days I am barely surviving. Other days, I am growing beyond belief. What about you?