There are two things that have crossed my desk this week that have me thinking.
The first was the point that knowledge worker’s “tools” have been democratized.
In the past, corporations owned the technology that was used for work.
Today, knowledge workers have access to a lot of free technology.
And subscriptions for additional capabilities are often under $20/month.
This puts knowledge workers in control of their careers more than ever before.
Opportunities are endless.
However, there is another side to the abundance of technology.
This is summarized in the perfect analogy by Seth Godin.
In this post, he suggests that technology is making us like an index.
Instead, he believes we need to focus on being more like the table of contents.
That is where the point of view happens.
My Perspective
I’ve enjoyed the abundance of affordable technology.
In the last 3 years, I have learned and leveraged all kinds of new software.
I’m amazed at the capabilities.
I’ve also stopped several times to realize that I needed to infuse more of “me”.
My work was occasionally feeling like the index Seth suggests.
The creativity had been given over to the software.
Lately, I’ve been working hard to ensure my table of contents rises to the surface.
The tools are awesome, but the work needs to retain our voice.
Our point of view.
Your Turn
Have you seen your use of different technologies grow over the last several years?
Do you notice when you are in index vs. table of contents mode?
What can you do to keep the table of contents perspective front and center?