Information Technology Dark Side

I’m not talking about the web. I’m talking about the net. You know, as in net profit or net weight. Net profit = Sales price – cost, etc.

A few months ago I was talking with my dad (a financial planner) about the idea that young professionals should have a financial strategy that emphasizes mobility and flexibility if they want to advance. We were discussing whether a young professional should invest in traditional retirement plans if they don’t expect to work somewhere very long (i.e. job hopping) or if they intend to strike out on their own, both of which are good strategies for rapid income growth if you’ve got the ability to pull it off.

My dad suggested that in making these decisions we should focus on the net, and let the net determine what we should do. In other words, if you want to be able to quit your job and use your savings to finance a startup, use the strategy that lets you walk away with the most amount of money after all the penalties, etc. Probably a simple concept to most financial planners and savvy investors, but it was an idea that stuck in my head.

Now I’m going to tell a story that will seem unrelated, but bear with me. It’s not.

I was at work, talking to Garrett Hart, a friend of mine (and fellow Mac user), when my cell phone rang. It wasn’t an ordinary ring – it was the most obnoxious ringtone Cellular has to offer. Loud and long. Here’s the brief conversation that followed, as close as I can remember it anyway:

Garrett: I would fire someone just for having a ringtone like that if I could (fortunately for me, he can’t).

Me: Yeah, well I would fire someone just for being so uptight.

Garrett and I then had a terse conversation about how it is hard enough to work in cubicle world without the constant distractions of unnecessarily irritating ringtones, after which I had to concede, at least to myself, that my smart-aleck response to Garrett’s objections were completely unwarranted.

I mulled that conversation over in my head for a few days. I felt bad about it. There was something about my attitude that bothered me – not just the sarcastic way I responded to Garrett, but also the fact that I didn’t really care if my ringtone was annoying.

I told myself it wasn’t really that big of a deal. It’s hard to remember to turn my ringer off when I leave the house, and if I leave my ringer off at home I might miss some calls. Inevitably, even though I strive to turn it off every day on my way to work, I’m just going to forget.

And then I remembered my conversation with my dad about The Net, and the thought occurred to me that such a concept was useful even in considering issues outside the realm of finance. After all, social interactions should have a net effect that is positive, right?

This gave me a way to frame the ringtone problem and I asked myself a simple question. What would provide the most positive net effect for everyone? Leaving my phone on vibrate all the time wouldn’t actually harm me. Sure, I might miss a few calls if my phone isn’t in my pocket when I’m at home, but who cares? The reception at the house sucks anyway, and anyone who really needs me knows my home number. And, it would benefit everyone around me in a positive way because they would never have to hear my stupid ringtone again. And, I just might avoid getting fired because Garth might not be the only person who feels that way. There might also be a senior executive out there somewhere who feels the same way, and would give me the boot if the ringer went off in the wrong moment. Not likely, but possible, I guess.

So, now, I leave my ringer on vibrate all the time. Yes, I’ve missed a few calls, but nobody died.

This is a totally trivial example and a really unimportant issue, in the grand scheme of things, but it illustrates what I think is a good positive behavior: Let “The Net” effect of your attitude be your guide in determining whether it is the right thing to do.

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