ABSTRACT
Go to any meeting involving any senior people in the public sector these days and we will be bewildered by technology. Everyone, it seems, is becoming addicted to maximum availability. It will not be uncommon to watch people texting or e-mailing during meetings. This short chapter is a reflection on some of the issues arising from the use of ‘always on’ thinking.
Unlike conversation, which relies on a third party to report our exchanges for the record, e-communication is entirely visible. Everything we have ever written could be stored somewhere. This includes everything from carefully crafted missives to thumb-typed sharp notes fired off in the heat of the moment between or even during meetings.
