In the old comics, Dick Tracy had a wrist radio. It wasn’t that long ago that when someone got a cell phone, they called a person they knew and said, “Guess where I’m calling from.” That was then.
Today, 93 percent of Americans have a mobile phone. More and more of them are “smart” which means they’re not just phones, they’re computers that fit in your pocket. You can make phone calls with them, but you can do a lot more, too.
Everyone’s wondering about what it all means for business in general and HR and talent management in particular. Some of them are writing articles about it.
In July, Fortune published “What the mobile enterprise really means” by Todd McKinnon, CEO of Okta. And TLNT just published “Three Ways That Mobile Technology Is Turning HR on its Head” by Neil Cohen, Vice President of Marketing at Visage Mobile.
Clearly mobile will deliver big benefits to workers and companies. Clearly mobile will present all kinds of problems and challenges and threats, too. Here are some things to remember to help you sort it all out.
Nobody knows, but everyone has an idea. Technology forecasters are usually wrong when they count on a change in human nature. And they’re usually far too aggressive with their timelines. On the other hand, just plain folks come up with productive uses for technology on their own, with no help from experts.
Look for the natural paths, then pave. When Dwight Eisenhower was president of Columbia University, workers asked him where they should put new footpaths. Eisenhower told them to wait until people wore paths between buildings and then pave those paths. Watch for what people do naturally with technology, then figure out how it will work for you.
Don’t try to guess and plan. Be watchful and agile instead. The best rule is: Ready. Fire. Steer.
