Study People More Than Technology

The shinier new horsepower of tools can make us feel enamored and excited. And there’s some value in learning what is under the hood of tools.

Every day, we have new apps, marketing tools, big data analytics engines and a slew of new and better.

But at the end of the day, there is much more value studying people and how they:

• Make decisions
• Operate under stress
• Reward or punish behaviors
• Handle confrontation
• Execute with speed or deliberateness

People are complicated. We tried to make them machines that operated predictably and repeatedly in the industrial age model we bought into.

But people are not machines. They are individuals that have different whims, motivations and competencies. They are complex.

And you will be better off if you can key in on studying and understanding who you are dealing with for business whether trying to create and define a deal or finding talent to scale your new idea.

Technology will continue to change at a blistering pace. And keeping in tune with how platforms, systems and tools work will help you gain efficiency or see opportunities.

But your time is much better spent in what makes money – understanding people and learning how to do deals, run projects and make your ideas happen.

Are you spending enough time studying people for business gain?