I can’t resist this post! I was talking to @dominiccampbell about using Twitter in various occupations. My mind leapfrogged to this idea.
Extreme change management
- Take away all the computers
- See which processes people think are sufficiently important to do by hand.
- Allow computers to do those and let people know that computers can be removed at arbitrary times.
Then I thought, are computers there for important processes or are they there to allow us to do what we couldn’t do before?
Let’s look at my essential processes.
- Wouldn’t it be cool if I could check with the Coop whether they’ve actually got any Wheatgerm bread before I walk to the shop?
- Wouldn’t it be cool if I could ask any one walking back past my house to bring me a loaf?’
- Wouldn’t it be cool if I had the casual social conversations that I have Coop staff online and in places other than the Coop.
What would I lose if the computers were turned off?
- Adverts from Tescos ~ only an Express here and they rarely have what I need ~ delete without reading.
- Adverts from Tescos – no really, I am not going to ask a truck to drive 20 miles to deliver what I can buy down the road in a friendly Coop. What they don’t have will wait.
- And probably a whole lot of junk mail from people who don’t know who I am and nor do they want to know. They just vaguely hope that I am stupid enough to buy from them.
If we started again, we would computerize vastly different things.
And I think we might be better for it.
Hello Jo, The very idea of someone making me work without a computer gives me the shivers! In my line of work – being that I am a number cruncher computers spare me a great deal of tedious work.
I find myself thinking of a job I did 25 years ago which took me over a month to do that I could do in perhaps a week now – and have the ability to easily experiment with “what if’s”. I guess though this is not really what you are talking about? Am I missing your piont?
G
Oh just a temporary removal! This began with a conversation with @dominiccampbell about getting police constables to twitter. I thought they might walk the beat first. Computers only streamline what we do. They don’t create it.
And once I started writing, I realized that if we do imagine a blank slate, we might computerize completely different things to the ones we have. It might be a good exercise.
Most of the things I did 25 years ago, I wouldn’t bother with know. They were over-processed and were showing off technique not adding value! Not everything of course, but quite a lot!
I use computers 16 hours a day, but they have to be as abused as plastic wrap!
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