Technology, such as cloud software, artificial intelligence and machine learning, is not the end of real human connection — it is just the beginning. When technology is set up in the right ways, we have more time to spend together collaborating and growing our businesses. The key is to implement and use technology in a thoughtful, ethical way so that we, along with our colleagues and employees, don’t become consumed and stressed by it. When implementing technology, we often spend the majority of our time on the technical skills around operating it. However, it’s just as important to spend an equal amount of time designing the guidelines around how we use it to communicate so that we’re not inadvertently creating additional work and stress, rather than less. The “Ultimate Gift of Technology” is to allow it to do the heavy lifting so you can dedicate more time developing collaborative and lasting relationships with your employees and customers. By doing so, you can become a more empathetic leader, incorporating technology practices in a mindful way and cultivate an engaged company culture that improves each person’s ability to communicate, innovate, and create.