Can you think of many industries not affected by technology?
You might think construction as people still pound nails, drive screws, lay flooring, etc. But plans are now downloaded, iPads are prevalent on job sites, communication is by text, etc. Cars are nothing but a computer on wheels. Kitchens have become high-tech with Wi-Fi appliances, Amazon Echo or Google Home devices providing recipes, being a timer, and more.
I mention this because of a Wall Street Journal article from last year titled, “Technology Spells End Of Roughneck Boom.” It seems automation and artificial intelligence are replacing high-paying blue-collar jobs in the oil drilling industry. One expert said jobs like measuring well conditions thousands of feet underground could decline by 25%. Also, efficiency is improved, inspectors now get their efficiency-driven schedules determined by a computer algorithm, they use augmented reality glasses that send real-time feeds to the office, and get back data via those glasses showing him how to perform complicated tasks.
This improved efficiency reminds me of one of my favorite stories. Bill bought a company that, in simple terms, sold blocks of service time. A good analogy is a hotel; if they don’t rent the room today, they can’t rent it twice tomorrow. The company’s website was a brochure and within a couple months he converted it to an ordering system, almost eliminating phone calls and phone tag. The good news is he didn’t get rid of the employees he had them do productive marketing work to grow the business.
We’re going through something similar. We just upgraded to Salesforce. We’ll use 10% of its capability but if it does the one primary thing we want it to do it will more than pay for itself in saved time – and everything else will be a bonus.
Like most things, there are good and not-so-good implications from new technology, new processes, or anything else. It’s using the good changes to overcome bad changes that makes a difference.
“Perfection is like chasing the horizon. Keep moving.” (Author) Neil Gaiman
