Solo Practice

In today?s high paced commercial world the immediacy is the ultimate differentiator among businesses and workers.  The industrial age allowed for tremendous time lag between thought and action.  The industrial model which still dominates the commercial landscape taught people to work between the hours of 9 to 5 and to put off tasks, thoughts and efforts until punching the time clock in the morning.

Many workers and companies will ultimately be unable to make the shift into the world of immediacy.  Immediacy allows us to respond to our clients using our Blackberry on evenings and weekends, and in the morning while getting ready.  Digital dictation allows us to immediately capture, transmit and convey thoughts, strategies, tasks and information the moment a good thought strikes us.  Laptop computers allow us to work from the air port, the plane and while on vacation. 

Many bemoan the inability to escape work and the expectations of clients for an ?immediate? response or update.  Those workers will be left behind.  The companies they work for will be at a significant competitive disadvantage. 

The groaners and naysayers and complainers refuse to embrace the immediacy which technology makes available.  They fail to see the advantages of immediacy for both them and their client.  Under the industrial age model, tasks, ideas and information simply stack up, pile up and often get lost in the shuffle.  Workers come to work in the morning only to find an inbox full of email, distractions and an inability to move the ball and get things done.  They feel the pressure of the pile.  They lay awake at night worrying about the pile and the many things undone.  They realize they are non-competitive.  Their jobs are on the line. 

The reality is that the capability and demands in the immediacy aren?t going away.  There will be workers in companies which embrace immediacy and those that stand by and watch it happen.  Like everything else, the capabilities and expectations created by our world of immediacy are both good and bad.  Overall, I find the benefits of immediacy far outweigh the detriments.  When I realize that a task remains undone or an email needs to be sent, I simply pick up my portable dictation device and dictate the task or email.  I am immediately relieved of the burden of a task undone.  And my productivity while are the office is greatly enhanced.