Robert Harles - Human-Driven Experience: The Battle for Trust in the Digital Age

Robert Harles

This edition first published 2023

Copyright 2023 by Robert Harles

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Harles, Robert, author.

Title: Human-driven experience : the battle for trust in the digital age / by Robert Harles.

Description: [Hoboken, New Jersey] : Wiley, 2023. | Includes index.

Identifiers: LCCN 2022029459 (print) | LCCN 2022029460 (ebook) | ISBN 9781119812982 (hardback) | ISBN 9781119813002 (adobe pdf) | ISBN 9781119812999 (epub)

Subjects: LCSH: Consumer behavior. | Consumption (Economics) | Branding (Marketing)

Classification: LCC HF5415.32 .H375 2022 (print) | LCC HF5415.32 (ebook) | DDC 658.8/342dc23/eng/20220707

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2022029459

LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2022029460

Cover Design: Wiley
Cover Image: pialhovik/Getty Images

To my wife, Becky, whose kindness, thoughtfulness, and desire to serve others reminds me every day what it means to be truly human. To my daughters, Violette and Collette, who motivate me to do more to make the world just a little bit better. To my parents, Walter and Jeanette, whose love, support, and patience know no bounds.

Nothing eases suffering like the human touch.

Bobby Fischer

As a society, we are at a momentous crossroads. The past 30 years have seen tremendous growth in the areas of technology, data, and capital, although this growth hasnt always been smooth. Its the fundamental struggle for economic growth and social stability.

This same struggle has played out throughout history, but what is different about today is that our old controls, structures, processes, and understanding are failing us in the face of unprecedented change. Before, change happened slowly over time, giving people and businesses a chance to change and adapt to what was coming. Now, we face rapid-fire changes in technology, societal norms, and government policies, and we must adapt to the changing environments in the blink of an eye. There is nowhere to hide. Technology, data, and forces beyond our control have conspired to challenge us professionally, politically, socially, and emotionally.

I have arrived at a point in my career at which I believe I have a pretty good idea of where data, technology, and next-generation _____________ (fill in the blank) are going, at least superficially. But I also realize that this is not the whole picture; there is something more beneath the surface that is absolutely critical to understand if we are to survive, adapt, and thrive in this new world. Exactly how I got to this realization is an interesting question, because the path I took in my own career was a counterintuitive one.

When I finished college 25 years ago with a masters degree in history, I hadnt a clue what I would do with it. If I look back to the way the world was then versus the way it is today, it is virtually unrecognizableparticularly from a technology perspective. The iPhone was still a decade away from being introduced, Google didnt yet exist, and General Motors was about to pull the plug on its pioneering EV1 electric car. The dot-com bubble was quickly inflating, and investors were bullish on most any company that had a presence on the webwhether or not it could actually turn a profit. Remember Webvan and Pets.com?

When I was in high school, I dabbled with computers and did a little programmingnothing out of the ordinary. My original plan was to major in architectural history in college, but I eventually settled on modern European history, which covers the period starting in the late seventh century and runs up to the coming of war in the early 1930s.

Perfect choice for someone who is now responsible for helping develop Accentures digital offerings in social media and emerging channels, right?

Okayplease bear with me for a moment.

Despite my choice of a major, my college experience shaped my thoughts about technology and business for the rest of my life. I was offered the chance to run the business club at Oxford, which was called the Industrial Society. Fearing unemployment, it was a chance I gratefully jumped at. Thats where I was first introduced to business and to companieseverything from consulting to engineering to consumer goods.

The raison dtre of the Industrial Society was to help students make connections with potential employers. And since there were no business-related degree programs at Oxford at the timeas you might imagine, the school was heavy on English literature, languages, classics, politics, philosophy, economics, and the like. The Industrial Society was popular with students who were thinking of starting a career in business after graduation.

I believe we were one of the first student clubs at Oxford University that had a web page, and chances are, we were probably one of the first student organizations anywhere that had its own web page. Still, I am not sure that the importance of that moment really dawned on me at the time. I had no idea how quickly events would over overtake the world and how in only a few short years a web page might spawn a whole new economy.