Lead High Performance | Col Mickey Addison

I’m a big fan of people.

I’m one who believes there’s always room for one more, and although I like the tech toys my engineer brethren have given us, I’m not one to believe in the tech over people. People get the work done, not tech.

I know, all us engineer geeks are supposed to be soulless robot men who can relate better to machines than men, but the truth is that I’d much rather be around other people than the tech. I think most people are like that, frankly.

That’s the message of Allison Austin’s article in Inc. Magazine. Get a load of this:

Now, understand that you shouldn’t reject the digital revolution entirely. Smartphones, instant messages, social media, and online communication have all made connections easier, globally possible, and downright fun. But it has also brought a level of diminished capacity to people-to-people interactions. Don’t let all the shiny objects fool you, people still want to work as efficiently as possible with others.

You see, the reason leaders do what they do, no matter where and whom they lead, is because people make us go. That’s why I don’t listen to the population controllers and the downsizers when they speak of human capital as interchangeable with tech, or about consuming too much, or whatever. People power is what drives the economy, what drives innovation, and what gets the rest of us going in the morning.

The tech is cool, but don’t let the tech become the target of your attention. People are always first, and I’m a big fan!