I have just invested in an Apple Watch. I debated with myself for a long while as to its value before taking the plunge, but now I am using it I can see the advantages and especially the benefits from interaction with an iPhone. It also has some surprisingly neat and useful features; for example, if you raise your hand, you can Ask Siri to set reminders or even turn the watch face into a torch. I can also run various health apps including taking an ECG.  And then this morning as I was rushing out to play tennis I lost my phone – however I could use the watch to locate it by triggering a call sound; I found it buried under the bedclothes. But why does this matter from my perspective as a legal adviser?

As a lawyer my professional discipline requires me to practice and keep up to date with legal cases, statutes and legal commentary. However, as a technology lawyer I absolutely must also understand and follow the developing interfaces with technology, or I can’t do my job properly.

Working with the Apple Watch is just the latest of a series of efforts I have made to do this. When in private practice I was one of the first to have a carphone (it was almost literally the size of a small brick). I then used devices like the Psion Organiser and  the ubiquitous Blackberries for work – remember those! Blackberries were so addictive that one of my colleagues had his locked in the glove compartment by his wife in the airport car park as they jetted off for a holiday.

I have also benefited immensely in this respect from membership of

•  the Society for Computers and Law of which I am a past chair and fellow. SCL's mission is to inform and educate legal and technology professionals, academics and students and the wider audience on the impact of IT on law and legal practice through the promotion of best practice, thought leadership, and the fostering of a global tech law community.
• ITechLaw of which I am a member and past chair of its In-House Committee. ITechLaw has been serving the technology law community worldwide since 1971 and is one of the most widely established and largest associations of its kind. It has a global membership base representing six continents and spanning more than 60 countries..

These have provided me over the years with not only conferences and talks on the impact of law interfacing with technology, but the opportunity to network and compare notes with fellow professionals. One morning session at a memorable ITechLaw conference in Scandinavia commenced with the presenter playing a guitar- and then explaining how 3D printing could be used to build the guitar.

The point I am making is not so much about me, but how as professionals whether as lawyers, commercial advisers, doctors, dentists or accountants it is simply not enough anymore to do a good job just on the basis of say medical knowledge alone. IT knowledge and skills and interfacing with technology have become more and more essential for all professionals over the past few decades. My cousin recently explained to me how he had learnt as a surgeon to use a robot controlled by joysticks on a computer, which gave more manoeuvrability and precision in carrying out an operation than could be achieved manually.

This Xerox article 35 Interface Innovations that Rocked Our World says Interfaces are where humans touch technology and provides some historical context describing interfaces from the abacus through the rotary dial to the computer mouse, predictive text and gesture recognition.

And interfaces are moving on apace.  See this excellent Deloitte article Intelligent interfaces Reimagining the way humans, machines, and data interact which observes that:
people interact with technology through ever more intelligent interfaces, moving from traditional keyboards to touchscreens, voice commands, and beyond. And even these engagement patterns are giving way to new and more seamless and natural methods of interaction.

And concludes
Unlike many technology trends that present new ways to streamline processes or engage customers, the intelligent interfaces trend offers something much more personal: an opportunity to fundamentally reimagine the way we, as humans, interact with technology, information, and our surroundings. To say this trend is potentially disruptive would be an understatement—simply put, it represents the next great technology transformation.

While this research article New interfaces, zero interfaces comments Now 5G, high-speed connectivity and edge computing are set to provide a further boost for user interface (UI) technologies. We can expect to see new relevant technologies such as wearables and AR/VR headsets building their future on the foundations laid by mobile computing.

See also this Gartner blog Is Your Product Development Ready for Zero-Touch User Interfaces which says
The zero-touch user interface is a paradigm where sensory channels beyond touch shift interfaces away from the screen, pointing devices and keyboards. These sensory inputs include voice, vision, gaze, gestures, facial recognition, sound, motion, gait and other biometrics to exploit the entire human body. These interfaces create seamless, no-touch interactions between the user, the devices and the technology.

And we are only at the beginning of this interface revolution. See this Harvard Business Review article What Brain-Computer Interfaces Could Mean for the Future of Work which discusses direct interfaces between our brains and computers:
By leveraging multiple sensors and complex algorithms, it’s now becoming possible to analyze brain signals and extract relevant brain patterns. Brain activity can then be recorded by a non-invasive device — no surgical intervention needed…… For example, your BCI could detect that your attention level is too low compared with the importance of a given meeting or task and trigger an alert. It could also adapt the lighting of your office based on how stressed you are, or prevent you from using your company car if drowsiness is detected.

And comments
Researchers are also experimenting with “passthoughts” as an alternative to passwords. Soon, we might log into our various devices and platforms using our thoughts.

While now I press buttons to use my television and my watch and my phone or use my voice to attract the attention of a digital assistant, so in the future I may just have to think, and my professional advice will be recorded and transmitted.

As the author of The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy Douglas Adams says A computer terminal is not some clunky old television with a typewriter in front of it. It is an interface where the mind and body can connect with the universe and move bits of it about.

So back to waving my watch and speaking to the TV then “Beam me up Scotty”!

Avoiding other cars at the British institution, the roundabout, can be tricky. It is even worse in France who have adopted the “rond point”, but without the same Anglo Saxon discipline and tendency to observe the rules. Imagine then the additional complexity and risk posed by a roundabout with six circles in one. Swindon's “Magic Roundabout” is one of the most complex in the world. It has five smaller roundabouts where traffic goes clockwise, while vehicles travel counterclockwise around the sixth inner circle. It presents drivers with multiple complex choices which it is critical to get right, or you could meet drivers coming in the opposite direction. The normal rule of thumb give way to traffic from the right (left in France) does not always work.

As professionals making choices in our working lives can also be quite hard, not because we are indecisive, but because the very nature of our skill set means that we try to see all the angles and seek to weigh up multiple factors before determining the best course of action. For complex decisions like navigating the Magic Roundabout this is even more tricky.

It is also something we can I suggest consciously work at and improve. This article Important Decision-Making Skills: Definition and Examples comments that “Employers expect managers to make excellent choices based on facts and data rather than intuitions.” It then sets out some examples of decision making skills including problem-solving, using emotional intelligence, critical thinking, logical reasoning, leadership and team working and goes onto propose how to improve decision making.

While this blog The Most Important Decision-Making Skills (With Examples) sets out decision making skills commenting “Decision-making can be based on intuition, reasoning, or both. In any case, successful decision-making requires problem-solving, collaboration, emotional intelligence, and logical reasoning skills.” It observes that there are three main approaches to decision making:

• Intuition
• Reasoning
• A combination of both

However more complex decision making means recognising the increased challenges and adopting techniques to help. This World Economic Forum blog Six tips for taking complex decisions at work observes that:

 “Systems today are volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous, and the dominant dynamics are beyond our control. Making the right decisions or responding optimally is therefore far more challenging than previously.”
The post is based on a book on Tackling Complexity: A Systemic Approach for Decision Makers by Gilbert Probst and Andrea Bassi and recommends the following approaches:

• Identify the causes and effects of the problem across the social, economic and environmental dimensions.
• Use a multistakeholder approach
• Evaluate the impact across sectors and find a balanced strategy
• Evaluate the impact across actors and find an inclusive strategy
• Think long term and prioritize resilience

Delving even deeper into this topic Wikipedia describes “Decision Theory” as “a branch of applied probability theory and analytic philosophy concerned with the theory of making decisions based on assigning probabilities to various factors and assigning numerical consequences to the outcome”.

While this New Scientist article Top 10 ways to make better decisions observes “Making good decisions requires us to balance the seemingly antithetical forces of emotion and rationality. We must be able to predict the future, accurately perceive the present situation, have insight into the minds of others and deal with uncertainty.” Its recommendations include:

• Don’t fear the consequences
• Go with your gut instincts
• Consider your emotions
• Play the devil’s advocate
• Look at it another way

One really useful technique in understanding and resolving complex conundrums and arriving at a decision is collaboration in conjunction with the use of visual aids. Brainstorm the problem and potential solutions with the key stakeholders on a flipchart using diagrams or a mind map. Having an image of the Swindon roundabout in your head will help navigate its circles!

And just when you start to see what could help our normal decision making process, along comes AI and chatbots like ChatGPT which can be consulted on anything including the material and factors necessary to make decisions – and who knows in future we could delegate decision making entirely to these software programs! I think fortunately perhaps that this is quite a long way off.

 Above all it is usually important to arrive at a decision. As Theodore Roosevelt said “In any moment of decision the best thing you can do is the right thing. The worst thing you can do is nothing.”

And we can learn from decisions even if we don’t get it right every time - Mark Twain observed “Good decisions come from experience. Experience comes from making bad decisions.”
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As Zebedee concluded at the end of each episode in the original children’s series The Magic Roundabout (after which Swindon’s roundabout is named) - “It’s time for bed”!

​Some years ago, while in private practice at a law firm I was acting for a large customer renegotiating a critical supply contract. Failure to agree could result in the bankruptcy of the supplier which provided some key technology, so we had to succeed. The team leader smoked and every hour or so would call a halt to proceedings to have a cigarette with some colleagues in a smoking hut or sometimes a car park. I as a non-smoker I did not at first attend. However, I quickly noticed that our position had moved on after every such break. So, possibly shortening my life span in the process, I joined these critical break outs not to smoke, but to participate in the discussions on the progress of the negotiation and the tactics we should adopt. They also acted as a quick time out to recharge our batteries and were a very good way of providing perspective. I am not for one moment advocating smoking, but the concept of the “smoker’s break” is a good one.

My online typing course (see last week’s blog Comfort Zones and BHAG’s) has also just recommended in a short video that I take a break from working on the computer and stretch my legs. Apparently in addition to the risk of back, wrist and hand strain from spending too long at the keyboard, we focus so hard on the screen that we blink less, three or four times a minute instead of twenty odd, potentially also giving us strained and dry eyes.

Otis Redding captured the concept of taking time out to think well when he sang “I'm sittin' on the dock of the bay Watchin' the tide roll away”. Perhaps that takes the idea too far, but even a short break really helps. A partner of mine used to take ten-minute power naps in the days when we were almost always working in an office. Working partly from home makes it I suggest both easier and harder to take a break. Easier in the sense that you can relax for a short time in your lounge or kitchen or garden, but harder because you are only sixty seconds or so from your office – and the phone is always on. But why not take a leaf from Otis’s approach and go for a quick coffee in your local café – and watch the world go round for a few minutes.

I recommend this article I found Breaks and work performance: two sides of the same coin which says:

It’s not a question of if we should take breaks. It’s a question of when and for how long. A break is a time for yourself. It’s when you have the chance to stand up and stretch, grab some food, or search for stress relief. Taking a break from work is a necessity for your productivity and focus.

The idea that we need to remain focused on one single task for as long as possible has been debunked by many studies. In fact, researchers have found that when our brains get used to something, performance and productivity begin to plummet.

The research referred to is a study by the University of Illinois reviewed in this Science News article which summarises the results as A new study overturns a decades-old theory about the nature of attention and demonstrates that even brief diversions from a task can dramatically improve one's ability to focus on that task for prolonged periods. It concludes that This study is consistent with the idea that the brain is built to detect and respond to change, ….and suggests that prolonged attention to a single task actually hinders performance.

The original article even sets out eight types of short break including, as well as the Power Nap, Nature, Social Media and even Dance breaks! It recognises “Micro breaks [which] are things like standing up to stretch, filling a water bottle, or petting your cat”.

See also this blog The Importance of Taking Breaks which states However, research has found that taking a break can be very beneficial for you and your work.  Micro-breaks, lunchtime breaks and longer breaks, have all been shown to have a positive relationship with wellbeing and productivity. By taking regular breaks you can boost your performance.

The research refers to a 2016 study which found that taking lunchtime breaks and detaching from work, increases levels of energy at work and decreases exhaustion. The blog recommends some tips to prompt you to regularly step away and rebuild your energy including

• Agree break times with your peers
• Set an alarm on your phone
• Plan to do something in your break that you enjoy

While this BBC article The tiny breaks that ease your body and reboot your brain also extols the virtues of mini breaks stating If you don’t have time for an hour-long break in your workday, a series of ‘microbreaks’ can also have a powerful effect on your body and your mind. And Microbreaks are thought to help us to cope with long periods at our desks by taking the strain off certain body structures – such as the neck – that we’re using all day.

As the author Russell Eric Dobda sagely remarks “Taking a break can lead to breakthroughs.”

And Hiral Nagda the coach and writer observes “Sometimes doing nothing makes way for everything.”

As a technology lawyer I also really like this quote from the American novelist Anne Lamott “Almost everything will work again if you unplug it for a few minutes …. including you.”

​Time for me to take another break!

I am endeavouring to improve my typing skills by doing an online course. I am trying very hard to use all of my fingers and not to look at the keyboard. This takes me out of my normal two fingered approach with eyes glued to the keyboard but is starting to pay off as my hands begin to use “muscle memory” and get used to what I am asking of them.

It struck me that the same is potentially true when taking on a new and complex work task, especially with any associated time pressures. Or even going into a new social or workplace environment like after event drinks where you don’t know anyone. In other words (damn I have started to look at the keyboard again) being taken out of our natural comfort zones. And yet to learn and develop or meet and socialise with new people I propose we need to come out of or expand what we are familiar with.
Perhaps more of us than we realise find some challenge in breaking through a new frontier.

Some also may suffer from so called imposter syndrome which is “loosely defined as doubting your abilities and feeling like a fraud. It disproportionately affects high-achieving people, who find it difficult to accept their accomplishments.” This article discusses imposter syndrome and identifies 5 categories

• The Perfectionist.
• The Expert.
• The Natural Genius.
• The Soloist.
• The Superperson.

But I have realised over the years that there is more to new learning than overcoming some innate reluctance or fear. What I think matters is being prepared to contemplate a step into the unknown in the first place. Eleanoor Roosevelt said “Do one thing every day that scares you.” Set stretch targets and see where they take us (damn started using two fingers again!). I came across the term “BHAG” last week – Big Hairy Audacious Goals. This forces a company or an organization to think big and create a plan for long-term success.

It is a term coined by Jim Collins and Jerry Porras in their book, Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies.  They identified 3 elements:

• What you are passionate about,
• What drives your financial income,
• What is the thing you do best in the world

Jim Collins says:  A BHAG …… is a powerful way to stimulate progress. A BHAG is clear and compelling, needing little explanation; people get it right away. Think of the NASA moon mission of the 1960s. He cites the example of Boeing whose engineers in the early 1950’s have the idea to build a large jet aircraft for the commercial market. where they had virtually no presence. And says If you’re Boeing’s management, you defy the odds and commit to the audacious goal of establishing yourself as a major player in the commercial aircraft industry. You build the jet. You call it the 707. And you bring the commercial world into the jet age.

See also this article BHAG — Why The Most Successful Companies Set Ambitious, Long-Term Goals & Why Yours Should Too which cites Bill Gates “When Paul Allen and I started Microsoft over 30 years ago, we had big dreams about software. We had dreams about the impact it could have. We talked about a computer on every desk and in every home." And “Most people overestimate what they can do in one year and underestimate what they can do in 10 years.”

This blog Get Started with Big Hairy Audacious Goals (BHAG) Today – an Extensive Guide includes some good examples of organisations that have set and achieved BHAG’s including Amazon, Nike, Spotify, SpaceX and Starbucks. It also comments on the impact upon individual employees: First, you have to feel the excitement towards the goal, then your employees should feel it. Otherwise, it would just be an interesting idea that has no correspondence amongst your employees.

So corporate BHAG’s should be communicated and flowed down to individuals who at the end of the day have to buy in and implement them. I also suggest that this approach is not only relevant to organisations as a whole, but also to teams and can even operate on an individual basis pushing each of us to come out of our comfort zones, set BHAG’s and learn and develop as a result. See this blog How To Create Your Personal BHAG?  which says BHAG’s are not only for nations and companies but also applicable to individuals. To be successful as individuals, we need to set daring goals that captivate us and reflect our core values. A BHAG functions as your North Star and gives you direction and guidance.

This Forbes article What Is A BHAG? New Ideas On Goal-Setting - And How To Crush Your Goals does provide some balance and discusses the possible downside of having unrealistic goals, but concludes:
That’s where the power is: when your goals ignite possibility, and provide encouragement, you will do the do-able. And maybe, just maybe, doing the do-able is a way to achieve the impossible. Of course, it really just depends on your goals.

In practice I suggest it helps achieve big goals whether personal or corporate by breaking them down into a series of objectives – see the Harvard Business Review article Hey Boss — Enough with the Big, Hairy Goals which says A good boss lays out the path to a big goal, and works with people to break it down into objectives that more clearly imply the necessary actions. It then cites the American organizational theorist Karl Weick who points out that organizations tend to be stymied by big goals that have not been broken into bite-size pieces.

Hence while my hopefully improved typing is not of itself a strategic goal it does take me out of my personal comfort zone and very much contributes to more effective business and personal communication which in turn could be part of my personal BHAG.
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I am indebted to my cousin for a concluding thought which comes from the American memoirist, popular poet, and civil rights activist Maya Angelou “Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.”
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