[Blog] Humans vs. Robots

Krystal Parker

If culture eats strategy for breakfast, why are we still hungry?

If strategy were enough, then why are 86% of companies on the Fortune 500 in 1955 no longer in existence today?

If that didn’t get your attention, maybe this will: 52% of the Fortune 500 companies from the year 2000 are now extinct.

That’s not a typo. In less than two decades, more than half the brands that were on the Fortune 500 list in 2000 no longer exist.

Consider a global pandemic, rapid change due to digital transformation and technology evolving at warp speed, then insert a robot revolution—companies that are unable to adapt and adjust rapidly will fail quickly. Just 50 years ago, the life expectancy of a Fortune 500 brand was 75 years. Now it’s less than 15.

Some believe that everything in business rises and falls on leadership, but where is strategy in that approach? This battle between strategy and leadership has been going on as long as Tom has been chasing Jerry.

Encompassing both strategy and leadership are the four basic elements that are the bedrocks to business management: planning, leading, organizing and control. These vintage management principles have improved with big data, lean principles, predictive analytics and behavioral assessments. However, as good as they get at planning, leading, organizing and control, companies tend to get lopsided. As a result, there is either greater emphasis on planning and control or leading and organizing.

The age-old power struggle between strategy and leadership creates silos, breaks down communications and ultimately accelerates a path to failure much more rapidly today than in years past. Take, for example, the speed of execution for Fortune 500 companies. One might ask why? Artificial intelligence and the robot revolution have created a need for an evolution of these vintage management principles and a balance between strategy and leadership. 

The world is evolving, and AI is taking over. Robots are vacuuming our floors, assembling and driving our cars, delivering packages, performing customer service, cooking our food, tending to crops, selecting job candidates, becoming our bosses and transforming the workplace. 

No industry is safe from AI disruption. We’re seeing the impact at every level of our lives from large manufacturing plants “staffed” by machines to offices where power outlets are more important than coffee bars. Experts estimate that artificial intelligence and robotics will displace up to seven million jobs between 2017 and 2037. While robots can improve our lives and businesses by reducing costs, improving service and taking over repetitive tasks, employers are having difficulty disaggregating the treatment of humans with robots. At the same time, because of this “robot revolution,” humans are feeling increasingly disenfranchised and often displaced and disengaged from the company’s mission.

How many times have you been told to leave your personal life at the door when you walk into work? This isn’t a new management attitude, but AI is exacerbating it. “Separate your personal and professional life,” a mentor once told me. If no one has ever told you that, you’ve probably at least heard the saying take off your personal hat and put on your company hat. And then there’s my favorite: It ain’t personal, it’s just business. 

The companies that will survive into the 21st century are the ones that recognize, respect and respond to the dichotomy of humans and robots. The leaders of those organizations value and care about people even as they attempt to maximize results with technology.

It’s imperative that leaders understand who is pulling the levers in the organization instead of what is pulling the levers. Employers must recognize the contributions humans make and understand that robots and humans can’t be managed the same because they’re not the same. It’s vital for an organization to employ, encourage and foster a culture that inspires people to experience alignment between purpose and vocation to contribute at a higher ratio.

I have a Roomba® and I can’t tell you how many times that machine gets into trouble by getting stuck or off-balance or even misses a spot I want it to vacuum. Sometimes I have to stand over it so it vacuums exactly where I want it to. This is a silly example to illustrate that when you have a structure in place, humans and things can be very successful together. Humans are and will continue to be required no matter how advanced technology is. Their role may change, but the need for them won’t.

While vital, technology alone is not enough. Organizations need to balance the investments of human capital and technology—and it’s not easy. Companies I work with are either winning with technology and losing with their human workforce, or they’re winning with people and neglecting to innovate through the use of technology. Herein lies the opposition between strategy and leadership.

Gartner, the world’s leading research and advisory company, expects legal tech spending to increase 200% by 2025, and IT spending in organizations will continue to rise. Automation software is getting a big boost in spending, with plenty of CIOs predicting they are likely to double the number of software “bots” they are using to increase productivity and reduce reliance on human workers. Gartner research also reveals that the vast majority of IT and business leaders say that the most important skills needed over the next ten years will be soft skills—people skills, communication skills, social skills and other personal attributes that enable us to work effectively and harmoniously with others. No matter how far technology advances, this truth remains: over the past century, soft skills have been the best predictor of success in business.

My dad once told me, “Krystal, you are not as smart as your brother and sister. You will need to luck into a good job.” Indeed, book smarts did not come easy to me. There were countless nights I would be up studying at the kitchen table past midnight to pass a test the next day. But what came easy and natural to me was people skills—that’s where I excelled.

As important as technology is, a soft skills deficit creates significant opportunity costs for organizations. Companies that invest in human capital and reskilling the workforce will strengthen leaders, reduce turnover, improve efficiency and adapt to change more quickly. The pendulum shouldn’t swing too far left or right—it’s vital to balance technology and people.

Where is the real value?

When I was 34 and relatively new in my role as a corporate officer, I was responsible for running the gas company in 47 cities along the west side of Texas. I was in a meeting with my supervisor and peers discussing our investment strategy for the upcoming budget year. In response to the pushback I was getting on my proposed training budget, I said, “Yes, I understand we are in fact standing on over $300 million of pipeline, but our greatest asset is our human capital.” At first, it got so quiet I could hear the secondhand ticking on the clock—and then the laughter drowned out the sound of the clock.

I could feel the blood pumping from my heart directly to my face. As I blushed, I remembered what my dad said about not being very smart. Thankfully, they laughed long enough for me to remember everything I’d accomplished. I didn’t go from being a college dropout stocking shelves in a dusty old truck parts store to the youngest vice president in this Fortune 500 company’s history by believing infrastructure had more value than people. I knew that some leaders valued pipe, technology and machines more than they valued people. I also knew they were wrong. 

Regardless of the industry, humans are every organization’s greatest asset. General Norman Schwarzkopf said it this way: “I have seen competent leaders who stood in front of a platoon and all they saw was a platoon. But great leaders stand in front of a platoon and see it as 44 individuals, each of whom has aspirations, each of whom wants to live, each of whom wants to do good.” Yes, AI and the robot revolution are important. However, the ones pulling the levers, creating the robots, innovating, adapting to customers and solving complex problems are the humans working in your organization. 

Rich, rewarding, wonderful workplaces that spark, motivate and inspire humans do not happen by accident nor do they always equate to companies standing the test of time. Processes and systems do not have to suffocate rich, rewarding workplaces. However, if the company is not profitable, the company will cease to exist. It ain’t personal, it’s just business.  

When I visualize business, I see it as a machine made up of several parts, gears and axels working together to power something (or create power). If you break down a business piece by piece, you find people, processes and systems. When those three things are working in conjunction, operations are flowing very well. When they’re out of alignment or the wrong systems, processes, or people are in place, it can create friction and often disrupt or destroy the workflow. 

The business landscape is brutal, and the engine must be running at peak performance to power the machine.