Working with so many different operating systems and programs for computers for so long has forced me to ask the question: "Are new operating systems really the key to higher productivity in the modern workplace?"
The answer, as I see it, is: "No!". As far as I know, every computer I have ever had, had used an operating system in order for me to get any work done (like electronic music, SMPTE, Excel, word processing, video editing, audio production, website building, creating logos, electronic marketing, e-commerce, blogging and the list goes on). That being said, it is well known that the typical, modern workplace must rely on computer technology (and operating systems) to, doggonit, get things done!
It may be interesting to note that the first computers were human beings (women). Women were charged with the task of calculating 'bomb trajectories' of war planes during World War 2; in other words, to 'compute' said trajectories (source: Inventor's Digest - the magazine I was addicted to in the mid 1990's). ENIAC eventually replaced them in 1946.
We now still, as humans, tell computers what to do and they supposedly help us produce results in most cases, if they don't give us the dreaded BSOD or 'hang' on a command because of low resources (Mac users, I applaud you; you almost never get this, but twice I can tell you that a Mac almost stopped an event cold in two major North American cities! So, you ain't perfect, neither!). In short, computers, with their operating systems, are 'supposed' to help us increase our productivity, and so we sometimes look beyond the human touch and say: "Well, it should work! Why isn't it working?"
In fact, all the computer needs is some electricity and a gentle set of fingers to 'doggonit, get things done!' Hold on a sec! Fingers? Who's got the fingers? The computer doesn't have fingers! Oh, the humans have the fingers and they use them to make the computers do things for them quickly. The computer needs to eat electricity and it needs fingers to do their job properly. Feed them the juice, massage their keys and tap their mice/pads and they work wonders...when they don't freak out!
So, computers are great and they help get things done fast, and companies spend millions of dollars on software, upgrades, hardware and other stuff but...what about the fingers? What about the brains behind the fingers? Let's not forget that there are brains and fingers behind every workstation at every place of work. Humans are behind it all, right? So, what about the care and feeding of the humans who work the machines that make the money that make the world go 'round? Why should they have to come into places of work that stink of negativity day in and day out? What's that about?
I'll tell you what it's about. It's about leaders who forget what it's like to be part of something small that grows into something big. It's about leaders that are allowed to take advantage of the little people who actually run things from the front lines.
So, how do you feed the organic machine? You feed it with appreciation, incentives, potential for growth, a positive work environment and everything you can think of to keep things from falling apart because your front line, and every step in between, have the brains and the fingers to doggonit get things done! Just remember - on paper, things may look good, but until the paper gets dog-eared with fingerprints, coffee stains and drops of sweat, it's just a piece of paper.
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