Communication Unplugged

Today, it is difficult, if not impossible to recall how we got along without the mobile phone, e-mail and Facebook. Tomorrow, the three will no longer be separate, with smart-phones doing to the cell what it did to the telephone. The corporate executive today, in Faustian grandeur, would rather you had his soul than his blackberry while he makes the transition to the iPad, after which said Blackberry will go back to being slightly less important than the soul. Impersonal communication, or communication without having met the other party, now constitutes a major chunk of any professional’s life.

The language is changing as well. PFA and asap are far more acceptable than their longer forms, which look both redundant and out of place. Volumes have already been written about how sms is killing all languages known to man and is instead churning out text which comprises anything alphanumeric in nature. While we’re on the subject, it might be prudent to mention that sms itself will perhaps soon be arcane – remember smart-phones?

As organizations start becoming flatter and flatter and conventional flows of direction are broken, the importance of having a sound communication structure is assuming greater importance. Mailing lists, groups, forums and etceteras are no longer just recreational conveniences. The organization of today has say five people working together on one project. The team would be cross-functional, across the conventional hierarchy and certainly based out of different locations. They will never have met prior to the project, not more than two of them will actually meet during and they will certainly go their separate ways after. Communication and how it is used now becomes the critical factor for determining the success of the project. From introduction to initiation to brainstorming to execution, all facets must be covered using a few simple but exceedingly powerful tools.

New concepts like flexible hours and work from home are also possible today because of the new nature of communication. And seeing how organizations globally race to implement and encourage these practices in their business, it will be indeed very interesting to observe where the trajectory takes us. For all you know, it’ll be a place akin to Wonderland.