My New Blog

After spending much time recently trying to resolve a problem over the phone, not speaking to a single human being for hours, but instead going through a never-ending list of "menu choices" I can proudly say that I am very happy our business and company is "high touch" and not high tech.

Yes, we do need technology, but not as a substitution for human interaction.  Our high touch skills are what relate us to one another and help businesses to succeed.  Right now some people can go for 24 hours without interacting with others.  They  sit at a computer screen all day; they send messages by e-mail; they drive home looking out through tinted windows and with no one seeing in, then grab dinner at a drive-thru.  After driving to their bank of mailboxes, they pull up in front of their home, hit the garage door opener, drive in, hit the button one more time, and after the door goes down, they are safe and secure from the rest of the world.  People are being alienated with the aid of technology!

But the good news:  high touch is being looked upon in a new light and soft skills have value again.  We are realizing that people are not doing business with companies; people are doing business with people in the companies, and each one of us need these soft people skills to be truly successful.

I work with a very small real estate company that prides itself upon that high touch.  We have all of the modern day technology needed to succeed in business.  But there are no telephone "menus" to work through; telephones are answsered by a "person"; messages are returned; e-mail is acknowledged; and every effort is made to communicate with each individual customer on a personal basis, to meet the specific needs of that potential buyer or seller.  Every effort is made to establish a relationship with that person.

In this fast paced society, our ability to be effective in our business is how well we communicate one to one - not our high tech, but our high touch.