Summary
There are two kinds of people: Native Analogs and Native Digitals. One of them is about to become extinct.
If you took every business conversation about remote work and extracted the essence, you’d find something like this…
Company Leaders: We want people back in the office.
Team Members: Umm, not so fast…
Lately, I’ve been thinking about how we got here. Author Christopher Lochhead made me realize that what he calls Native Analogs (people older than 30) are still running things for now. But if you, like me, are a Native Analog, then we’re the last of our kind to ever walk this earth.
Native Analog’s default life experience is offline. They:
- Grew up in a world without internet and iPhones
- Prefer to communicate and gather in person
Every office retirement party or LinkedIn retirement announcement is another step in the eventual extinction of the Native Analog world.
Native Digitals are people who are around 30 years old or younger. They:
- Were born into a world where technology was a significant part of their life experience
- Communicate and gather digitally
- Hang out with their friends via video chat or by playing online video games together
- Have to specify “IRL” in a conversation if they want to meet up in person, because online is their default.
- Will soon run the business world
The discourse around remote work is a good example of the division.
CEOs around the country, the majority of whom are Native Analogs, have been urging a return to the office. Their default world is in person, and anything else feels like a poor imitation.
Team members who are Native Digitals roll their eyes at the argument that they can’t function at a high level remotely. They’ve been using digital technology since before they could walk or speak. It’s as if their whole lives have been preparing them for this moment. Why, they ask, would we do anything but work digitally?
Leadership Takeaway: Even if they try, each group can never fully understand the world as the other group sees it. But, this is a self-awareness issue, not a “who’s right” issue. Successful leaders must do their best to toggle between Native Analog and Native Digital perspectives.
The Native Analog world is fading like a fiery sunset dissolving into shades of blue. If we want to lead after the sun sets, we need to start thinking about what life and business will look like in a Native Digital world, and how we can start preparing today.
