I don't like Monday ...

I was asked recently by a senior leader what I thought of Monday dot com. My answer was simple. It's a tool of mass instruction for companies and people who don't trust their staff. It can also be used as a substitute for poor management. This harsh view perhaps demands a little unpacking ...

Monday dot com is hardly new. We've used notebooks, outlook, MS project for years and it clearly is of use where people work in some kind of workflow where one person's output is another's input. Virtual working clearly drives the use of such tools and these can have positive effects.

I've however noticed a distinct rise in the use of so called efficiency tools such as Monday dot com in a more sinister mode, to micromanage, progress chase on a constant basis, collect data for constructive dismissals and, worst of all, replace bad management and supervision.

Adding technology to bad human relations often makes the workplace climate worse, not better. Adding tech to good human relations can achieve the opposite effect.

As with everything, the adoption of technology without understanding or agreeing the purpose is either stupid or dangerous. Bob Geldof's refrain points us towards the need to understand what Simon Sinek and Richard Branson see as the big why question of 'purpose'. Clearly Geldof never meant this in the original lyric which was about the Cleveland Elementary School shooting. It's a very good question that leaders and managers need to ask, in spite of the gruesome context of the original song.

"Tell me why"

Read more on the need for a harmonious fusion of man / woman and machine at Routledge.