Some Coffee and a Rant

"We used to be able to meet with an executive or manager and explain our services, but now the gatekeepers are too strict. People seem to hide behind e-mail and text messages and besides, schedules are so tight...." 

His voice trailed off. 

"I'm an old school guy. I prefer calling up someone. The younger employees shoot off emails and think they've made a contact. I want to hear a voice and catch the tone. You know, sense if there are any concerns. I want a relationship and not just a transaction. Sure, that's a common line but there's a coolness to much of business nowadays that wasn't there before. Loyalty seems weaker. What was that study about bowling alone? I think a lot more of us are bowling alone and if you suggest forming a team you get odd looks."

He looked off in the distance.

"The technology can put us in touch with people on the other side of the globe. It makes it easier to send a note and yet it's also easier to block and reject. People are ruder. If you ask me, the global community is an oxymoron. I only live in one real community and even that is getting distant. People stare at their phones and their screens and conversations are becoming shorter, like tweets. They text people who are seated next to them. We are the audience which watches the screen when the real speaker is standing just a few feet away."

He shook his head.

""I'm a dinosaur but it doesn't take much to be a dinosaur these days. My concern is this: What if all of this is smoke and we're moving backwards more than we realize? What if we are becoming less human? Maybe we're the cyborgs."