The Blackberry is supposedly a great communications tool of the 21st century.
The truth is that it is not a communications tool. It is a distraction device. This device is the solution that to allows us to receive our emails wherever we are, whenever we are. But what was the need that required this solution? What losses were businesses suffering because they could not access email 24/7?
In my experience, the reality is that the tool of Satan that is the Blackberry serves only one purpose, to distract stakeholders from paying attention in meetings.
“Oh, Mr. Department Head, you weren’t paying attention for the past fifteen minutes because you were attending to your Blackberry, so you want me to re-cap? No problem, that will just cost you two man-hours of attendee time as well as my respect.”
Why is it that so many people in positions of authority consider their Blackberry to be more important than the person who is actually talking to them at that moment?
Would you start reading the newspaper while someone was talking to you?
Would you start watching the news on TV while someone was talking to you?
Or, more analagously, would you open a letter and start reading it while someone was talking to you?
I would hope the answer to all those questions is “No”.
Attending to your Blackberry while engaged in a conversation or a meeting is just plain rude and when you do it you demonstrate disdain for your colleagues and a distinct lack of leadership.
The only good Blackberry...
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