Keeping Your Business Human In Today’s Digital World

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StrategyDriven Marketing and Sales Management Article | Digital Technology| Keeping Your Business Human In Today’s Digital WorldDigital technology has had a huge positive impact on business – software has helped to automate tasks that were once mundane and time-consuming, whilst the internet has helped to make the world more connected making it easier for niche businesses to find new customers.

The downside of all this is that business is starting to lose touch with its human side. Whilst many of us appreciate the convenience of modern technology, many of us still need human interaction both as a customer and an employee. Here are several ways in which you can inject a human element into your business whilst still using digital technology to its advantages.

Don’t over-rely on AI

There are many jobs that artificial intelligence is better at handling than us humans. This includes complex calculation tasks such as accounting and repetitive tasks such as building machinery.

Some tasks however are still performed much better by humans. These are jobs that involve creativity and emotion.

As this article at Harnham delves into, relying on AI for marketing can be damaging. Whilst analytics can uncover useful marketing strategies, there are times when you need to react emotionally to people’s demands.

Similarly, customer service still benefits from a human touch. As this article from Forbes suggests, human chatboxes are becoming a big problem – most customers find them irritating as they’re not able to deviate from their script when asked difficult questions and a lack of empathy towards customers’ frustration can only add to the anger.

As for using AI to help employees, it shouldn’t be used as a tool to replace in-person training. Many employees feel neglected when forced to learn everything via e-learning. Whilst it can be a useful supplement, relying wholly on digital training could demotivate new employees.

Show your face

Whilst the internet has helped to connect people, there are times when it can form a barrier. Long conversations with strangers can be had via chains of email, whilst we can buy products online without ever having to talk to a person. However, as this article at QuickBooks suggests, face-to-face interaction is still something we need in business to build trust.

In-person physical meetings may be the best way to do this, but they’re not always possible. Fortunately, there are ways to use technology to still show your face. Video communication tools can help to replace in-person meetings allowing you to still have a face-to-face meeting digitally. Meanwhile, it could be worth sharing photos of you and your staff on your website to help develop a human connection (you can even embed a video of you introducing yourself to clients).

Be playful with tech

Another way to stay human when using digital technology is to use this technology beyond it’s purely functional form. Many of are engaged by technology when it is used as a toy and many businesses have started to embrace this. Examples include Ikea’s use of AR to allow users to see what an item of furniture would look like in their home or Pizza Express’s delivery app that allows users to play a video game whilst they wait. Some may view this as gimmicks, but it can actually be a way of appealing to customers with technology whilst also showing a human appreciation for fun.

StrategyDriven Marketing and Sales Management Article | Digital Technology| Keeping Your Business Human In Today’s Digital World

StrategyDriven Podcast Episode 37 – Making Change Work: Why is Buy-in Necessary and How to Achieve It

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StrategyDriven PodcastStrategyDriven Podcasts focus on the tools and techniques executives and managers can use to improve their organization’s alignment and accountability to ultimately achieve superior results. These podcasts elaborate on the best practice and warning flag articles on the StrategyDriven website.

Episode 37 – Making Change Work: Why is Buy-in Necessary and How to Achieve It explores the role of buy-in to the change management processes, its importance, and how to get it. During our discussion, Sharon Drew Morgen, the New York Times bestselling author of Dirty Little Secrets, shares with us her insights and illustrative examples regarding:

  • what buy-in means in terms of the change management process
  • how and when buy-in occurs
  • why people do not buy-in
  • how a leader can get someone who is resisting to not only buy-in but to do so happily
  • when the change agent should begin to seek buy-in from the various stakeholder groups
  • what skills change agents need to gain employee buy-in and how can they acquire these skills
  • what leaders can do to programmatically embed the buy-in approach to their change management policies

Additional Information

In addition to the outstanding insights Sharon Drew shares in Dirty Little Secrets and this edition of the StrategyDriven Podcast are the resources accessible from her websites, www.NewSalesParadigm.com and www.BuyingFacilitation.com.   Sharon Drew’s book, Dirty Little Secrets, can be purchased by clicking here.

Making Change Work!
This podcast is the fifth in a series that teaches leaders how to make change work. The finale of the Making Change Work series will pull it all together; introducing a radical approach to change management – real leadership!

About the Author

Sharon Drew Morgen is a New York Times bestselling author and developer of a change management model based on buy-in that she’s written about in her latest book Dirty Little Secrets. She is the visionary thought leader behind Buying Facilitation®, a decision facilitation model that focuses on helping buyers and those who would be impacted by the accompanying change manage their internal, unconscious, and behind-the-scenes issues that must be addressed before they purchase anything or buy-in to the requested change. She has served many well known companies including: KPMG, Unisys, IBM, Wachovia, and Bose. To read Sharon Drew’s complete biography, click here.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 40:32 — 55.7MB)

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StrategyDriven Podcast Episode 35 – Making Change Work: If Decisions Are Always Rational, Why Are Changees Resisting?

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StrategyDriven PodcastStrategyDriven Podcasts focus on the tools and techniques executives and managers can use to improve their organization’s alignment and accountability to ultimately achieve superior results. These podcasts elaborate on the best practice and warning flag articles on the StrategyDriven website.

Episode 35 – Making Change Work: If Decisions Are Always Rational, Why Are Changees Resisting? explores the rationality of decisions and their impact on change management. During our discussion, Sharon Drew Morgen, the New York Times bestselling author of Dirty Little Secrets, shares with us her insights and illustrative examples regarding:

  • why decisions are always rational
  • what causes resistance to logical change
  • what benefits can be gained from resistance
  • how resistance can be avoided when making a change

Additional Information

In addition to the outstanding insights Sharon Drew shares in Dirty Little Secrets and this edition of the StrategyDriven Podcast are the resources accessible from her websites, www.NewSalesParadigm.com and www.BuyingFacilitation.com.   Sharon Drew’s book, Dirty Little Secrets, can be purchased by clicking here.

Making Change Work!
This podcast is the fourth in a series that teaches leaders how to make change work. Coming editions of the Making Change Work series will explore the steps to gaining the buy-in and committed effort needed to implement change successfully. We’ll cover topics including:

  • Why is buy-in necessary and how to achieve it?
  • Putting it all together, a radical approach to change management: real leadership

About the Author

Sharon Drew Morgen is a New York Times bestselling author and developer of a change management model based on buy-in that she’s written about in her latest book Dirty Little Secrets. She is the visionary thought leader behind Buying Facilitation®, a decision facilitation model that focuses on helping buyers and those who would be impacted by the accompanying change manage their internal, unconscious, and behind-the-scenes issues that must be addressed before they purchase anything or buy-in to the requested change. She has served many well known companies including: KPMG, Unisys, IBM, Wachovia, and Bose. To read Sharon Drew’s complete biography, click here.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 31:58 — 44.0MB)

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Leadership Development That Makes a Difference

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StrategyDriven Professional Development Article | Leadership Development | Leadership Development That Makes a DifferenceAs a leader, there are multiple competing demands on your time. Too often, leadership development falls by the wayside. It’s too easy to file that under ‘get to it later.’ Yet, most leaders expect results.

If you didn’t spend time on your financial portfolio, would you expect results? What about your physical fitness and overall health? Would you expect to be in optimal physical health without any effort?

The problem with all these scenarios is that you can get by for some time without any effort. However, two issues arise. First, when it comes to your leadership, is getting by enough? Second, eventually that approach catches up. You will realize results. They just won’t be optimal.

Results require effort. There are no shortcuts. However, you can make smart investments in leadership development activities that have impact. These fit into two categories – low cost and high cost.

If you are looking for the best results and you have a higher budget to work with, the single best approach you can take is to hire a qualified leadership coach – emphasis on qualified. Their approach will be thorough and include an assessment of your current leadership, a plan tailored to your unique needs, multiple interactions over a defined period, and regular feedback and support. Much like a physical fitness trainer, they will stretch you outside your comfort zone and hold you accountable. This is a great approach, but it requires a more substantial investment of time and money.

Coaching is not for everyone though, and not everyone has an extensive budget to work with. Aside from cost, another drawback from coaching is that it has a finite timeframe – usually six to twelve months. After that, you are on your own.

For sustainable results, you must incorporate leadership development activities into your weekly routine. There are a wide variety of low-cost, high impact ways to develop your leadership skills.

The activities described below have little to no cost and can be incorporated into your regular routine. The caveat is that when pursuing these activities, it is not about checking a box and moving on to the next activity. You must get feedback, reflect, and reframe your perspective for learning to stick. For these activities, cost and time are both less and impact can be high, but you need to be self-driven and own the accountability.

When pursuing leadership development, there are three broad categories to focus on: take your pulse, build your core, and maintain flexibility. To avoid wasting your time on the wrong activities, never begin your leadership development game plan without knowing what you should work on. This requires an assessment. Although there are many options available, the best low cost, high impact assessment option is a good, reliable 360 assessment. Use the results to build your leadership development game plan.

Once you know what to work on, focus on your core. Building your core is about strengthening your knowledge about your industry, business and competitors, technical skills, and leadership skills. There are a wide variety of ways for you to do this including business books, trade publications, industry reports, and leadership podcasts. Your game plan should incorporate these activities on a weekly basis.

Maintaining your flexibility is about being nimble. These activities include what has come to be known as informal learning – activities that can be part of your everyday job and often help move the business forward. There are extensive opportunities to learn via collaborative and on the job approaches such as mentoring, teaching others, job shadowing and task forces.

Leadership is too important to simply get by. You need results that make a difference. When it comes to your leadership development, there are many low-cost, high impact options available. You just need to know where to look, establish a game plan, and take that first step.

About the Author

StrategyDriven Expert Contributor | Timothy J. TobinTimothy J. Tobin, author of Peak Leadership Fitness: Elevating Your Leadership Game, a learning and leadership development professional committed to helping individuals and organizations reach their greatest potential. He is currently vice president, franchisee onboarding and learning at Choice Hotels International, where he oversees the hotel opening processes and learning strategy and programs for all franchisees.

He was previously vice president of global leadership development at Marriott, and held leadership roles at Baker Tilly (formerly Beers + Cutler) and Booz Allen Hamilton, where he designed and implemented a variety of talent management solutions.  A frequent leadership speaker, he has served as an adjunct professor for more than 20 years at the University of Maryland, Catholic University, Trinity University, and George Washington University.

For more information, please visit https://www.td.org/books/peak-leadership-fitness

StrategyDriven Podcast Episode 34 – Making Change Work: The Problems of Change Management: Bias, Resistance, and Push

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StrategyDriven PodcastStrategyDriven Podcasts focus on the tools and techniques executives and managers can use to improve their organization’s alignment and accountability to ultimately achieve superior results. These podcasts elaborate on the best practice and warning flag articles on the StrategyDriven website.

Episode 34 – Making Change Work: The Problems of Change Management: Bias, Resistance, and Push explores the problems associated with change management, namely, that of bias, resistance, and push. During our discussion, Sharon Drew Morgen, the New York Times bestselling author of Dirty Little Secrets, shares with us her insights and illustrative examples regarding:

  • how contemporary change management models handle resistance
  • why with thousands of years of amassed leadership experience change management isn’t easier
  • what leaders should be doing differently to avoid resistance to change
  • what part personal bias plays in change management and how to overcome these biases

Additional Information

In addition to the outstanding insights Sharon Drew shares in Dirty Little Secrets and this edition of the StrategyDriven Podcast are the resources accessible from her websites, www.NewSalesParadigm.com and www.BuyingFacilitation.com.   Sharon Drew’s book, Dirty Little Secrets, can be purchased by clicking here.

Making Change Work!
This podcast is the third in a series that teaches leaders how to make change work. Coming editions of the Making Change Work series will explore the steps to gaining the buy-in and committed effort needed to implement change successfully. We’ll cover topics including:

  • If decisions are always rational, why are changees resisting?
  • Why is buy-in necessary and how to achieve it?
  • Putting it all together, a radical approach to change management: real leadership

About the Author

Sharon Drew Morgen is a New York Times bestselling author and developer of a change management model based on buy-in that she’s written about in her latest book Dirty Little Secrets. She is the visionary thought leader behind Buying Facilitation®, a decision facilitation model that focuses on helping buyers and those who would be impacted by the accompanying change manage their internal, unconscious, and behind-the-scenes issues that must be addressed before they purchase anything or buy-in to the requested change. She has served many well known companies including: KPMG, Unisys, IBM, Wachovia, and Bose. To read Sharon Drew’s complete biography, click here.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 35:02 — 48.2MB)

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