Week Forty-five - How #mobile are you?

Technology is all around us, but have we become too addicted that we just can’t put it down?

Often when we think about technology we think of a computer or some sort of device we have bought to make our lives easier. And you are right to think this; we live in a world where we are all constantly connected. But is this connectivity and mobility good for us? I have recently experienced that information mobility is great but can also be hazardous and endanger our lives!

I have previously spoken about the new Gen Y who needs to constantly stay in touch and advances in technology have facilitated this. But if you look around its not just young people who are hooked onto a smart phone or a tablet, it’s everyone! We all like to stay constantly in touch with the world around us.

But when did the need to stay connected to information and virtual social networking begin? I still remember the days when having a touch screen device was “all the rave” and we used it mostly to play games. But interestingly it wasn’t that long ago and in the last 5 years we have seen smart phones grow from chunky plastic objects where you played games to multi-colour extra large devices that do everything for you. Every company wants us to snug their mobile or table in our hands. And it is this “snuggling” in our hands, which becomes an issue.

What do we use a smart phone for? Hardly anyone actually makes calls any more (we tend to talk to people through tweeter, i-messege, Facebook or whatsap) If you look over people’s shoulder you will see them staring at their Facebook page, news streams channels, a book, chat apps, pictures, films or TV programs! All these communication channels have been made accessible through 3G signal and free Wi-Fi everywhere! I was amazed when I realised that down deep in the bowels of the London underground you can now access all your needed social networking through free Wi-Fi provided and sponsored by Virgin Media!

So what is the issue here? I was particularly drawn to the dangers of mobile technology during my visit to London this week as I rushed through the crowds to get to my destination in time. I try to push my way through people and it struck me how many of them walk with their eyes firmly fixed to their mobile device and didn’t look where they were going. I had to avoid several in coming humans who where not looking where they were going. At one point I was almost in a collision with a man who was so engrossed in his social networking he was slowing me down. Have you heard of road rage? Well this was pavement rage! He became angry to the fact that I was trying to pass and I interrupted his virtual social networking. Who was right, the “walked and read” man or I? Well I guess this is an argument for another time.

This incident was followed by a lady who nearly got run over by a bus as she attempted to cross the street looking down at her phone! She wasn’t listening to music; I guess this was lucky; otherwise I’m not sure she would be tweeting anymore! And it didn’t stop there, there was an accident in the underground, a man had fallen onto the tracks and I couldn’t help but thinking if perhaps he was also looking down at his mobile device while standing extremely closed to the edge of the platform...

I am all for new technology and what brings to our lives but I do believe we have to examine the way we use it. Being constantly connected has brought many great benefits as well as easier ways to stay in touch. I love the fact that through this new technology you are able to reach anyone anywhere in the world 24 hours a day. If you need something form someone, you are able to get to the person and connect. However, there is a time and place for everything and we must control how we communicate with each other.

We all know that texting or looking at your phone while driving its illegal and can cause accidents, as it distracts you and take your attention away from the road. The same should apply when we are on the streets. Texting, Virtual Social Networking or readying and watching anything in your screen while walking is as dangerous as doing it on a car; it causes accidents and can take people’s lives. I think this is getting out of hand and one day we will wake up to the fact that people are walking like Zombies through the streets. This becomes more evident in London or any big city due to the larger crowds of people as you can witness this at a bigger scale. But anywhere you are you can see how technology is taking over our lives, specially at times where we should not be connected and paying attention to where we are going.

You wouldn’t see someone walking and readying a book or a newspaper, so why can’t we put down our screens for those few moments in our lives and focus on the road ahead? Are you reading this blog while you are walking? If so STOP! Look where you are going!

Trust me when I tell you that we already spend far too much time looking at our mobile devices every day; take a break; walk and enjoy the view around you. You will learn a lot when you look at where you are going and who knows, things around you may even inspire you! If you are still single and looking for love, then definitely put your device down, you may miss coming in contact with those eyes across the road and never connect with your soul mate! And if this is not enough motivation, how about just simply do it to stay a live….

Week Forty-three – The Generation game!

Gen Y, X, Boomer or Silence? Do you know what I’m talking about? It’s a generation’s game!

In case you are wondering what I am referring to, these are the names we have given to each of the new generations that have form since the beginning of the century.

Let me give you a brief explanation:

• Gen Y are those born between 1980 and 2000, also know as the millennials. These are the new Generation that everyone is talking about.
• If, like me, you were born between early 60’s and 80’s you are part of the Generation X (I quite like my generation, the X makes it sound interesting…)
• Boomer is the term used to describe those born at the end of the war and up to the 1960’s. They are also known as the “baby boomers” a termed use because of the baby boom of that time.
• And anyone before this are known as the silent generation, I think it is because in those days children where to be seen not to be heard!

By the way, the new generation coming through (those being born now and up to the 2000’s) have not been given an official name yet, but you may have heard of them being referred to as the Z generation or in some cases the Nano Generation (is Apple responsible for this name?) And if you’ve not heard about this then WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN FOR THE LAST 10 YEARS!! This seems to be all we talk about nowadays!

So why am I talking about this subject on week 43 of my blog? Apart from the fact that as I said it is such a popular and hot topic in our every day life, this week I was witness to how interesting it is when you are in a room full of people from all generations, the dynamics of it and suddenly all theories around this collapse, because at the end of the day we are all the same, human beings trying to get by in life.

This week I had the privilege to be invited to the celebrations of the 25^th anniversary of one of our hotels, which in hotel years, this is quite an achievement, especially in the ever changing and challenging hotel world. And one thing that caught my attention was that 25% of the employees have been there since the opening! Yes 25 years service and they were all still looking forward to the next 25!

Part of the celebrations involved a special ceremony to honor these employees and their achievements, including a slideshow of pictures from the past with 80’s haircuts and mustaches. I was invited to do a speech as part of the event and I wanted to make sure I included everyone in my words, not only those with a quarter century of service, but those who have just join us; every person in the room, whether new or long serving, young or old, was part of the success of the 25 years of impeccable customer service and a great reputation.

I remember sitting by the side of the dance floor thinking about what I would say, I needed to recognize those long serving members, no doubt about that, but what could I say that would make everyone feel part of this special day. After a few moments I realized that the only way to do this was to not make a distinction, we had already recognized the long service members, so I decided to forget about who had what and how old or young you were. So I got up and asked everyone to join me by standing up and putting their hands together in a clap. I asked them to repeat this action time and time again, faster and faster until the room was erupting with clapping. Having energized them I asked the to take a seat and pointed out that the clapping hadn’t been for me but for each other, as we were here to celebrate everyone who for the last 25 years had contributed every day to the success of the hotel, whether for 25 years or two months.

So there you had it, Gen Y, X, Boomers and I think some Silent were celebrating each other in a shared success, all barriers where down and they were all one team.  I think this gave every generation the opportunity to recognize each other and ok, there were no Gen Ys within the 25 years service (that would have been illegal!) but they knew that they had contributed to the success of the hotel and more importantly had something to look forward to.

This “hot topic” of generations often points out how different each generation is. For example, the new workforce coming through are the Gen Y’s who have access too much more technology and social networking than previous generations and we are told we need to be ready for them. Every generation has its own distinguished trademarks and trends, there is no doubt about that, but I do think that no matter when you were born there is one thing that we all have in common, and that is our basic needs and instincts. Let me explain what I mean by this.

There is a model call the Maslow Hierarchy of needs, which I think is a good way to try to understand that there are no major differences in generations. In his model Maslow says that in order to be on top of the hierarchy of our needs, which is know as Self Actualization, you need to first fulfill all other needs. At the bottom of the hierarchy is our basic survival instincts, what he describes as the physiological needs; food, water, sleep – whether you are a Boomer, X or Y, we all need to satisfy these needs before we move up the hierarchy. Not surprisingly the next level is security: shelter, job and family security, health – I don’t know about you but I don’t think it matters how old you are, we all need a bit of security! Next is the much-needed love/belonging! And we all need a bit of love at some point in our lives, there is no generation out that has never appreciated the feeling of belonging, being wanted, friendship and family. So far, in the first three levels we have yet to see anything that would be different in each generation. There is one more level between belonging and self-actualization and this is known as esteem! and what is esteem according to Maslow? He describes it as Self Esteem, confidence, achievement, respect for others and respect by others. Studies about Gen Y talk about this being a generation that looks for belonging, being recognized and wanting to achieve more, they want development! I don’t think they want anything that the other generations have been looking for.

In Maslow’s theory Self-actualization is at the top because this is when you have actualized everything you set to do in your life. If you are boomer, you have probably achieved or is closer to this than any of the other generations but self-actualization can happen at any time and as many times as you want in your life.

• Maslow wrote this theory in 1943 so he is defiantly from the silent generation, but somehow what he talks about in his hierarchy of needs prevails and probably will prevail for years to come because at the end of the day, no matter what generation you belong to, we are all the same, just human beings trying to survive in the same world, looking to satisfy our basic needs in order to fulfill our lives and achieve self actualization!