Soar Above the Skyful of Lies

Stefan Stern:

The great financial crisis intensified at ultra-high speed thanks to super-fast broadband connections and increased computer processing power. Time to switch the machines off? No. But it is surely time to manage the flow of information better.

This will not be easy. Research led by the husband-and-wife-team Professors Andrew and Nada Kakabadse (he is based at the Cranfield school of management, she is at the Northampton business school) has revealed the depths of managers' addiction to new communication technology. Around a quarter of the 1,200 professionals surveyed spend three or more hours a day on their e-mails and sending text messages. More than half the younger and middle-aged respondents never turn their phones off at all.

Three quarters of younger workers admit to being addicted to technology. Alcohol, tobacco, shopping: none of these temptations matches the appeal of fancy new gadgets and high-tech kit. The only good news is that, while confessing to their addiction, the majority of respondents deny that their use of technology is out of control.

There is a paradox at the heart of this exciting world of new technology. We crave flexibility, connectivity, and speed. But we risk turning ourselves into busy fools, bamboozled by too much noise and information. I know of one distinguished company chairman who provides a bin for his board directors, into which they must drop BlackBerrys and similar devices at the start of any meeting. "You are here to pay attention and work, not play with that thing," is his not very subtle message.