‘Good' Technology Can Help Us Adapt To A Changing World

Forbes

05-06-2025

Basic 'people skills' are becoming less prevalent in today's early-career workers, who will be ... More tomorrow's managers and leaders.
The antidote to bad tech is good tech. That line comes from the new movie Mountainhead, the latest from Succession showrunner Jesse Armstrong.
I've been thinking a lot about that statement since I heard Armstrong repeat it in a recent interview. Armstrong's observation landed with me because I've been spending a lot of time lately worrying about technology's impact on young people and how those effects will play out in business and society.
Although I've worked in technology for my entire career, people will tell you I'm a salesperson, manager and leader at heart. I'm at my best when interacting with others, learning about their lives, their businesses and their needs, and working to create partnerships that deliver mutual benefits.
Over the past several years, I've observed that these basic 'people skills' are becoming less prevalent in today's early-career workers, who will be tomorrow's managers and leaders. We've probably all noticed that young people have become programmed for overstimulation and are less engaged with real-life interactions. Younger employees and colleagues almost always default to text or email, rarely leave a voicemail (although neither do I), and sometimes seem uncomfortable on the phone or in face-to-face conversations.
It appears that some combination of instant messaging, text abbreviations and emojis is robbing the next generation of at least some human interaction skills. That's a problem for business leaders. In the end, winning in business is all about convincing the people who make up your team that your strategy is right, and motivating them to execute. Try doing that via SMS.
Much of this change in human behavior can be attributed to the way new technologies have made us more efficient, yet less human. Mobile phones, social media, text apps, artificial intelligence and other popular innovations have made us more productive but less social. For many younger people, these effects were amplified by the pandemic (sorry to remind you), which forced us to replace classes, meetings and other physical gatherings with virtual meetings and digital communication. These changes have found their way into the business world, where companies and workers alike are wrestling with difficult questions about how to adapt and whether or how much to push back.
We won't be able to put the genie back in the bottle. So what's the answer? That's where the Mountainhead quote comes in: The antidote to bad tech is good tech. In the film, the line is meant to portray what Armstrong sees as the technology industry's insular and even arrogant nature. But there is also truth to the statement. As individuals and organizations, we need to accept that technology has changed society, business, and even people themselves in ways that won't be reversed. Whatever problems technology is creating, it's highly likely that the solutions we create will also be tech-based.
What good technology can we apply as an antidote to the 'bad?' In my area of expertise, there is no shortage of options. Fintechs and other technology providers have created a host of tools that leverage digital interactions in place of in-person interactions as a means of building and maintaining business relationships. New platforms can identify prospects and clients that best align with company products and strategies, increasing the likelihood that the prospect will respond favorably to any outreach, whether digital or in person. Other products use artificial intelligence to pinpoint the precise needs and interests of prospects and clients. Increasingly, these platforms can act on their own to initiate conversations by providing targets with a steady stream of highly relevant and actionable content.
That content is becoming more sophisticated and personalized. For example, new platforms enable anyone to make high-quality, professional videos quickly and cheaply. These platforms eliminate the need for extensive production teams and expensive equipment, with AI 'coaches' helping to perfect lighting, placement and other technical factors for optimal visual and production quality. Innovative avatar-based video technology allows users, after an initial recording session, to roll out a steady stream of new content in which their avatars speak directly to any target audience. Financial advisors and other professionals are using these new capabilities to interact with clients and prospects digitally without ever having to appear on camera.
All these are examples of digital technologies that can be used to replace some of the in-person interactions that have long served as the foundation of relationship-building. However, person-to-person conversation will always be essential. In fact, in an increasingly digital age, old-fashioned people skills might well become the ultimate competitive advantage.
To that end, 'good technology' can be used to free us from routine daily tasks and create more time for us to get out there and mingle. In my own corner of the world, I've seen solutions like Broadridge's OpsGPT and BondGPT eliminate hundreds of hours of operational and research work. At a broader level, virtual assistants, AI-powered apps that can write emails and create presentations, and other digital personal enhancement tools can untether workers from their keyboards and allow them more time in the real world—if we can convince them to take that leap!