Working to Be a Leader

“The Impact of Technology in the Workplace” is the topic of Written Assignment #3 for my summer students enrolled in “A Management Approach to Organizational Behavior” or AMAOB.  Why?  Because technology changes behaviors.  And not always for the good.  Leaders, managers, and staff need to be smart on the how they use technology and the systems that they put in place.

The textbook I use in AMAOB is hot off the press.  Yet, there is little if anything of significance in the chapters of this latest edition that addresses how technology programs and devices change workplace behaviors.  When I looked up “Technology” in the Index, the definition was “The way in which an organization transfers its inputs into outputs” and mentions three pages where the topic can be found in the text.  The purpose of AMAOB’s written assignment is to help my students understand and manage the uses and/or abuses of technology by employees.

On July 26, 2010, Fortune Magazine published an article on “Ten Smartest People in Tech.”  What goes into being the smartest people in technology?  Fortune states that it’s, “An alchemy of intellect, ambition, and that uncanny ability to peer around corners.”

Not used in AMAOB

When looking through the list of the smartest people in tech, I started thinking about a guideline I have in my classroom.  That is, I do not allow the use of laptops and request that all technical devices such as cell phones are turned off—or on vibrate—and placed out sight.  It has taken a few class sessions to get full compliance.

Mine is a classroom based on experiential learning.  I want my 30 ambitious students each evening to have their full attention on listening to me and their classmates, contributing their thoughts and experiences, and being respectful of the sanctity of the classroom.  The classroom is where seeds are planted, ideas are generated, knowledge transferred, and invitations to “peer around corners” delivered.  It’s an opportunity to learn and grow from one another.  It is also a chance to be intellectually challenged.

If I had one thing to say to the smartest people in technology, it’s this:  “Technology is important.  I couldn’t communicate the way I am doing now without the use of technology.  Yet, there are limits when people need to take center stage and interact with one another.  A classroom on the topic of management is a time to unplug students from technology and allow them to relate to what they will be doing in their careers:  developing interpersonal skills and understanding workplace behaviors.

Okay, it’s now time to answer the question: Who are the smartest people in technology according to Fortune Magazine?  Here’s the list:

Smartest CEO:  Steve Jobs, CEO, Apple
Smartest Analyst:  Mary Meeker, Analyst, Morgan Stanley
Smartest Founder:  Mark Zuckerberg, CEO, Facebook
Smartest Engineer:  Christophe Biscigila, Co-Founder, Cloudera
Smartest Designer:  Jonathan Ive, Senior VP of Industrial Design, Apple
Smartest Investor:  Jim Breyer, Accel Partners
Smartest Hybrid:  James Cameron, Director, Avatar
Smartest Scientist:  Robert Morris, VP, Services Research, IBM Research
Smartest Academic:  Danah Boyd, Social Media Researcher, Microsoft Research
Smartest Executive:  Todd Bradley, EVP, HP Personal Systems Group

And I am going to be the smartest person in class this evening.  Why?  I’m going to use technology to transfer knowledge contained in a PowerPoint presentation to my class while interacting each one of my students, all of whom will be giving me their total attention since they are not using technology.

Everyone should have an iPad.  That’s how I’m feeling after using mine for the past month.  Everyone should have the ability to have a machine that is so responsive and lightweight, one that can put you into a good mood the way my iPad does for me.

It wasn’t my initial choice to buy an iPad.  It just happened in the course of working to be a leader while traveling.  I needed a lightweight solution for managing e-mails, writing blog posts, and editing articles.  The wonderful Dell Inspiron 600m laptop I’ve had since 2003 still works fine; the problem is that it’s heavy.  The newer models in the same line and a comparable price range are even heavier.  A netbook was a possibility but the screen is a little too small for my eyes.  When I was at a management conference, I saw a professor write on his tablet, a laptop computer with a screen that could translate his words into type.  However intriguing and time saving it was, my colleague warned me that the tablet was heavy.

So, one day I walked into the Apple store near me on the Upper West Side.  Warning: do not, I mean really DO NOT ENTER AN APPLE STORE unless you want to buy something that you really didn’t think you wanted.

My reason for entering the Apple store was to look at a Mac.  Relatives and friends had suggested I buy a Mac since I could I could find a model with a large screen that was probably in the weight range I needed.  Exploring the Mac interface, however, I quickly realized that I’m a PC person.  I’ve used Outlook/Exchange since 1996 and knew that I would not be happy with the Apple version called Entourage.  Plus, buying into a whole new way of using applications seemed like overkill for my needs.

“I want to look at an iPad.”  I give Dave, an Apple Specialist, credit.  Dave did not suggest that I look at an iPad.  I was lured to that area because I had walked by the store numerous times looking at the blown-up images of iPad screens posted on the walls (they were also posted throughout the city) and was curious about what the actual screens looked like.

That’s when it happened.  True love began to emerge.

Leigh's iPad

I was cautious, yet engaged, especially when Dave showed me how to enlarge the type on the screen with a few strokes of my fingers.  He wanted to show me movies and other sites that just didn’t interest me.  I was interested in a solution to easily manage my eight e-mail addresses, my need to search the web, and the opportunity to edit Word, Excel, and PowerPoint documents.  Check, check, check!  The iPad fulfilled all that—and more.  Of course, I could read an e-book (Winnie the Pooh comes with the iPad), and download a zillion songs and applications from iTunes and the App Store.  That was icing on the compact cake that weighed in at 1.5 pounds.

I had to wait a week for my iPad since there were millions of other people who were also falling in love with the iPad.  When I brought my iPad home, I knew I had found the solution I needed.  Using the built-in keypad is a little awkward and there is no printer connection.  Nothing’s perfect.  It is what it is:  a lovely lightweight tablet that fulfills my traveling needs.