High Touch Thanks to Tech

Before the dawn of the internet, dominant business theory was impersonal, formulaic and transactional. Marketing relied heavily on interruption tactics, and a closed door was all that was needed to keep the public at bay. The Information Age (aka the Fourth Industrial Revolution) brought us a level of interpersonal connectivity we could not have dreamed of just a few decades earlier. Suddenly CEOs, presidents and even the Pope were accessible with just a few keystrokes. In 140 characters, a business could be funded or fold. As is our nature, people embraced the increased speed and scale of connection and quickly got used to it as a natural tool for in real life (IRL) connections.

No Touch = No Good

But when public health necessitated lockdown, the IRL part was abruptly shut down, with no reliable predictions of what would happen next. The flow of humanity was halted, and we felt it. We clung to our virtual connections, but eventually came to the realization that we far underestimated our human need for belonging. Even the staunchest introverts recognized that total isolation was bad for the soul. Depression and mental illness soared, people forgot how to be with each other, and our collective consciousness suffered.

Humanity Now

With our renewed appreciation for our need to see and be seen by others, and the realization that we have the means to satisfy it quickly and at scale, an empowered public will not settle for less. Herein lies the opportunity. Businesses, governments, and organizations of all kinds can accelerate their success to same degree that they are willing to adapt to our reprioritized human need for connection. As Mark Schaefer says, “The most human company will win”