The governing board for the Dow decided that industrial companies like GE are no longer as prominent in the American economy and voted to replace GE with drugstore chain Walgreens.
While this news is historic on its own the part that struck me when listening to the interview with the Chairman of the Dow was how he delivered the news. When asked how how GE took the news, he replied that “He sent off emails to both companies and expected to receive phone calls when he got back to the office”.
After 110 years on the Dow, GE got dumped via email. While we love technology and the efficiencies it can offer, some conversations should be had in person or at least over the phone. More stories are popping up about “ghosting” in the professional environment as another example of how we as humans are avoiding those difficult conversations few people enjoy having.
Embrace technology, tweet, snap, post, like and share, but remember sometimes you just have to pick up the phone.