Technology is the death of us

I read a funny story titled: “Technology is the death of us.” Let me share it with you:

RICHARD’S TEXT:

Hi, George. This is Richard, next door. I have a confession to make. I’ve been riddled with guilt for a few months and have been trying to get up the courage to tell you face-to-face. At least, I’m telling you in this text. I can’t live with myself a minute longer without you knowing. When you’re not around, I’ve been sharing your “wife,” day and night. It’s much more than you. I haven’t been getting it at home recently. I know that’s no excuse. The temptation was just too great. I can’t live with the guilt and I hope you’ll accept my sincere apology and forgive me.

Please suggest a fee for usage, and I’ll pay you.

Richard

NEIGHBOR’S RESPONSE:

George, feeling enraged and betrayed, grabbed his gun, went next door, and shot Richard. He returned home, shot his wife, poured himself a stiff drink, and sat on the sofa.

George then looked at his phone and discovered a second text message
from Richard.

SECOND TEXT MESSAGE:

Hi, George. Richard here again. Sorry about the typo in my last text. I assume you figured it out and noticed that the darned Spell-Check had changed “wi-fi” to “wife.” Technology, huh? It’ll be the death of us all.1

End of story.

Company leaders are thinking about the longevity of their leadership teams as they are focused on lifting up their higher-ups with development and promotions. Many are already planning for succession, as Sarah Lynch said in her article featured in Inc. recently.

Let me share her article with you and add a few comments.

A new survey from the executive coaching organization Vistage asked more than 1,700 CEOs of small and midsize businesses about their priorities for their leadership teams this year: 59 percent said they are “investing in development,” 42 percent said they are “promoting team members,” and 41 percent are “enhancing succession planning.”

Notably, this internal development focus comes as hiring plans slow. Fifty-one percent of these CEOs are planning to hire more this year, down five percentage points from end-2023. And just 31 percent of CEOs are currently focused on recruiting specifically for leadership positions.

Looking further down the line, CEOs are thinking intentionally about sustaining the strength of their leadership team. Twenty percent of CEOs say they’ve “identified successors for key leadership positions within their company,” and 15 percent say they’ve even identified their successors. Thirty-six percent are already creating succession plans.

This proactive focus is encouraging, as succession planning can challenge small-business owners. As Inc. recently reported, some of these owners even raised their concerns to the Senate committee on small business and entrepreneurship, which include “not understanding their exit options, not establishing a formal exit strategy, or not propping up any type of succession plan to begin with.”

This latest survey indicates that many leaders are looking ahead – and making a solid leadership team a vital part of that plan forward. “Leadership development has emerged not just as a tool for improvement,” says Joe Galvin, chief research officer at Vistage, “but as a cornerstone for organizational success.”

How true this is. In my experience, I’ve witnessed several businesses facing the risk of potential decline. This isn’t due to their products or services performing poorly but rather because their leaders remain entrenched in old practices, and the next generation shows little interest in participating in the business.

One Nextgen leader articulates this sentiment, questioning, “Why should we?” They express frustration at having their ideas dismissed by older leaders who believe that youth equates to inexperience and incompetence in the business realm. These older leaders have successfully operated the business for years, even when the next generation was still in its infancy or “still in our diapers,” as this young person laments in frustration.

An older owner of a large enterprise remarked, “Our next generation perceives our business as ‘unsexy’ because it lacks a tech focus.” In response, I asked, “Doesn’t your company possess the digital tools and technology necessary to propel it into the future?” The aging founder admitted it did not.

I then delicately explained to the business owner that every enterprise is now a “tech-business.” This entails training leaders in digital literacy and empowering all employees, especially the next generation of leaders, to voice their ideas and observations regarding the evolving business landscape.

Change is happening so fast that one speaker said it well: “Even change is changing.”

The question now is, are we equipped to do business without embracing change and technology? “Technology is the death” of our business.

Something for us to think about.

(Only a few more seats and days to go: May 15, 2024! Join Francis Kong and Industry Leaders at One Ayala, Makati, for his Level Up Leadership - The Next Edge. Learn to navigate challenges and change to achieve success in business, career, and life. Contact April at +63928-559-1798 or Savee at 0917-533-6817. Visit www.levelupleadership.ph to secure your spot).