Never forget that ideas drive the world, not technology. While we get caught up in the latest mobile devices, software, social media applications and more, we often jump in before we’ve really thought it through. It’s been said that a significant reason there were so many casualties during the Civil War is because technology was way ahead of strategy. As they would develop new guns, ammunition, or explosives, in their haste to get them in the field, they just used them indiscriminately. In many cases, it killed incredible numbers of the very army using that technology. We need strategy over technology.
So what am I saying? New technology is wonderful, but think it through. You can do far more damage to your own cause by firing your guns at random, than taking the time to work out a strategy.
What’s the best use of this tool?
How can we maximize the investment?
What’s our desired result, and how do we know when we achieve it?
Be creative. Be spontaneous. Try new things. But never forget that tools are wonderful, but ideas change the world.
This article on the strategy over technology originally appeared here, and is used by permission.