We’re doing something weird on the podcast next week, so I want to give an introduction:
A recent series on this blog discussed the immersive technologies that may lead to a metaverse.
(If this viral video from Walmart is any judge, we aren’t quite there yet. … Elon Musk isn’t impressed either.)
It also discussed how cyberpunk authors predicted such technologies would lead to a dystopia where humans were dependent–even addicted–to a dehumanizing way of interacting with each other.
It spells disaster for employee engagement and customer experience.
The final installment suggested antidotes to these problems, such as a book club.
Yes, I really mean it. A book club. In the workplace. Reading classics–novels and poems and so on.
Really, Ramsay?
A group at work reading books about things other than work? Why?
Do you have time for such foolishness?
And if you did, wouldn’t it be better spent reading a book about, say, leadership, or customer service?
Let me answer with an example: Jane Austen’s 1813 masterpiece, “Pride and Prejudice.”
It’s a romance novel so good that it has maintained its popularity for multiple modern generations. There are countless film and TV adaptations. And there are plenty of deep dives and introductions to the work online.
Memes from the 1800s
There are also LOTS of memes. Here lately, if I catch my wife laughing at her phone, it’s either Zillow Gone Wild or Jane Austen memes.
Austen must have been a real student of human behavior. She was certainly a master at portraying them.
“Pride and Prejudice” is a romance novel about how Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet overcome both pride and prejudice to fall in love. But that’s selling it short.
It makes fun of well-mannered people who aren’t as classy as they think. It is hilarious and heartwarming, and in my view it has a real sucker punch partway through. (I won’t spoil it for you.)
In short, it is a study in how to be civil and how to look beneath the surface–beyond pride and prejudice.
I said a study, not a fable.
It gives an interesting peek into humans’ perceptions and behaviors.
You won’t get a nice and tidy lesson at the end. Instead, you’ll get an entertaining and illuminating look into what it’s like to be human.
Jane Austen, business coach
Do we need to grow in how to make our interactions less dehumanizing in the workplace?
Well. …
The most common complaint I hear from business owners is that they wish their staff would THINK. Instead of going through the motions of a transaction, they need to
- ensure the client or customer is truly heard
- make a human connection in that experience
- anticipate problems to overcome or opportunities to delight throughout
- and more.
If you want your staff to hear other humans and be heard … if you want them to act like humans … if you want them to anticipate how other humans will act … they need to grow in what it means to be one!
So in upcoming podcast episodes, my cohost Mike and I will be sharing excerpts from the classics and discussing them–no script, and very little preparation.
Our goal will be to discuss a nugget we learn about life … and how it applies to that place we all spend the bulk of our waking life, the workplace.
So stay tuned for #guyswithoutlookswithbooks.