This quote suggests that by understanding people – their needs, behaviors, motivations – one can more effectively utilize technology. It emphasizes the importance of human-centric design in technology. Simply put, if you understand how people think and what they want, you can design and use technology in ways that are simpler and more effective.
The “people part” refers to the human aspect of any situation or problem. Understanding this involves empathy, psychology, sociology and communication skills. The “technology” part represents tools or systems we use to solve problems or achieve goals.
In today’s world where digital transformation is a key business strategy for many organizations, this idea is particularly relevant. Companies are investing heavily in new technologies like AI and machine learning with the hope of transforming their operations. However, such technologies would be useless if they aren’t designed considering the end users’ needs.
For example, consider an e-commerce website implementing a new AI-powered recommendation system to increase sales. If it recommends products based on algorithms without understanding customer preferences (the people part), it may suggest irrelevant products causing frustration among users leading to potential loss of customers.
Similarly in personal development context: suppose someone wants to adopt a healthier lifestyle using fitness apps but finds them too complicated because developers didn’t consider user-friendliness (the people part). If developers understood what makes an app easy for individuals with no prior fitness knowledge to use (like simple language instructions), they could create an app that’s more effective at helping users achieve their goals.
Therefore according to Godin’s quote; before diving into technological solutions we should first understand ‘people’, as doing so will make our interaction with technology much simpler and productive.
