Apple updated my iPhone the other day, whether I wanted it to or not. For the most part, I enjoy learning new technology, especially when I can find an immediate benefit. That said, I cringe at the time spent waiting for updates to download and install. And this is nothing compared to the necessary re-learning to use what I already know because the engineers improved it. (Been there? Done that?)
Digital technology, regardless of its origin, has always been a mixed blessing. On one hand, it offers efficiency and, in most cases, convenience. On the other, it confines our options and can be maddeningly frustrating when what we want to do is forbidden or made close to impossible. Spell-check, auto-correct and the templates in Word, Excel and PowerPoint come to mind.
But there is something more insidious at work as well. It is the learned helplessness that ensnares us all. We might trace it back to the calculators of 1970s. They helped us add, subtract, multiply and divide, along with extinguishing our ability to perform these functions on our own. (Please don’t argue that we shouldn’t need to.)
Then there’s Spell-check. Teachers used to complain that students could not write with proper grammar, punctuation and spelling. (“I ran it through Spell-Check and corrected all the errors.”) Now it’s the next generation of teachers who seem to suffer from this malady. (Please don’t send angry e-mails.) I talk to employers who live in fear that the proposal for that half-million dollar contract will be rejected because the bright young college graduate who drafted it relied on digital applications to make sure it was letter perfect.
Here’s the bottom line, the people who thrive in any environment practice and demonstrate these basic skills in all situations. They re-read. They re-calculate. They put their work down and review it the next day with fresh eyes. They also recognize that the people making the important decisions, leading organizations, and exerting influence do the same and will accept no less from those around them. So it comes down to a choice: a) Do you accept the digital conveniences thrust upon you and trust that the developers know best? b) Do you take five minutes here and ten minutes there to review your work, brush up on basic skills and pay attention to the details which can doom your work and plateau your progress? Your choice.