SUMMARY

Communication in our digital age moves at lightning speed. There is no more fertile area for the disruption of the linear and the arrival of the circular. Every day the Springwise editors battle with the volume of information communicated to us from across the planet via our spotters and other numerous sources. Much of our discussion is around what to leave out, what not to communicate, and we firmly believe that our critical role of editor, of curator, will become only more important as the clutter increases and it becomes ever more impossible to see the wood from the proverbial trees.

Innovation and technology can help, as we have seen in this chapter. Having built on the radical upheaval brought about by Internet and email, intelligent, connected devices are producing a new, contemporary wave of transformation. Despite current hesitancy over the use of the Internet of Things, its capabilities are growing at such a rate that it is likely that, in the near future, so called ‘smart-connected’ devices will become the norm. The relationship between human and machine will evolve continuously and these technological advancements must ultimately remain focused on placing improved human connections at their core.

This theme that runs throughout this book and many of the innovations featured in the chapters on the sharing economy, smart cities and travel feed into this discourse, highlighting technologies that seek to bring us together rather than supplement human relationships. The future of communication is here every day and, in a disrupted and dysfunctional world of ‘fake news’, the hand of the ethical editor has never been so important.

__COMMUNICATION TAKEAWAYS

1.  Think inclusively. Which of your services or products could be offered with an additional level of support for people with a disability? Take a close look at the diversity of your employees. If teams are fairly homogenous, maybe recruitment communication is where you could begin your inclusivity campaign. If teams are a fairly good representation of what has become our global community, ask them for suggestions for improving company communications and offerings.

2.  Reconsider business travel. What are some of your main expenses other than staff wages? If business travel is high on the list, consider using telepresence services. If business travel is not applicable to your company, could telepresence be used to better support and include remote workers? And if remote working is not a part of your brand’s culture, maybe telepresence could be introduced as a way of making flexible working manageable.

3.  Strengthen internal collaboration. Thinking beyond telepresence, what other aspects of connectivity could help make the working lives of remote employees easier and, ideally, more enjoyable? It may be worth considering whether cross-department collaboration is as strong as it could be. If not, how could cloud services such as Slack or Carecode be used to reinforce the company approach to innovation and service?

4.  Connect more. Although the Internet of Things is still in its infancy, the range of devices available is steadily growing and mainstream adoption will quickly follow. How could connected devices be incorporated into your company’s offering? Or, if not applicable, how could they help streamline processes within your office?