The world is changing and becoming more condensed, simpler, there is less smoke and shadow to cloud our minds. We know what is happening. People all around see what is going on but they must CHOOSE to close their eyes. Ignorance is no longer an excuse. New technology and advances in every area of science make us more connected, longer living, and able to live our lives without the worry of an early passing. Now we fret about the loss of our possessions, our things, those materials we have become attached to instead of actual people. Or are these material goods really taking over? Is the connection we feel so much deeper than a mere replacement of affections?
Humans need connection to other humans. We relish the rich, complex diversity that only comes from the one on one interaction with another person. Even so called introverts need this connection from time to time. It’s an exchange need, a basic belief that mental exchange with another person is vital and even necessary to one’s continued existence. But does that “person” need to be an actual person, a living breathing, flesh and blood human being? Explain Christianity, or any religion in that case. Religions, corporations, organizations, tribes, even products can take on a life of their own in the mind of a consumer. The product, company, or organization is no longer a lifeless name but a vibrant character filled with history, passions, and a deep sense of familiarity.
We see the corporation or products as we would another person. We interact with it on a similar level as our friends. We visit it, we interact with it, call and talk to it, telling our secrets and desires to it. Most people spend more time interacting with companies and products than actual people or their own family and friends. While the world is changing, people do not. We still want the same things; survival, security, identity, belonging, and interaction. But we no longer HAVE to receive those things from a live person.
Business today has an amazing opportunity to craft and develop a corporate character and soul so that it provides the most value possible in any given interaction with its’ customers. People want to connect, to interact and are more than willing to look at your company or your product as a viable substitute for interaction with live people. Or perhaps your employees are the reason the customers keep coming back? Irrelevant, it is still your corporate personality that brings the customer back time and time again. People see that and respond in kind.
