A German technology magazine recently asked tech celebrities about the devices that they carry on business trips. The digital evangelist of one German car company mentioned his iPhone 6. What? iPhone 6 in 2018? Since then the iPhone 7, 8, X and Xs came out, with the latter ones including facial recognition.

That European tech people use old technology is not a singular case. Also journalists whom I met in Silicon Valley had phones that were at least 3 or 4 years old.

A similar picture was at a conference in German, where innovation managers, head of development and product managers of technology companies had old smartphones. When I asked who of the 100 attendees owns an iPhone X with facial recognition, only one raised the hand. The question, who owns a voice assistant such as Google Home or Amazon Echo, only three raised their hand.

Somehow this is a very good description of the technological and innovation misery that’s haunting Europe. I don’t want to say that you always need to have the latest Apple smartphone or the latest gadget, that’s up to each individual, not least from an environmental perspective. But the people that I tend to meet at such events and with whom I interact in my job are a special kind of employees in their organizations. Their task is to lead their companies into the future, to understand what the latest trends are and where their own industry is heading.

This requires an intrinsic interest in new technologies and trends, a curiosity of how they work in daily life. I have friends who keep contact me to send purchase for them the newest gadgets from the U.S., because with their European address or credit card they cannot yet buy them, but they still want to get first-hand experience. I for example ordered a dozen Google Glass back then to send it to friends, when you could order that only from the U.S.

In Silicon Valley newest technology is often quickly seen in your co-workers hands. A visit in one of my favorite cafés the day after the introduction of the iPad showed every guest with an iPad. As much as we make fun of people camping out days in advance of a product launch in front of Apple stores, it also shows the excitement for and curiosity about new technologies and concept. If you can experience that first-hand, it opens up your own mind and gives you ideas how this technology can be combined with your own products and services.

Only when I am testing those technologies myself, I start understanding them as well as the possibilities how to use them in my environment. If I work in the automotive sectors, then suddenly facial recognition my open possibilities for access and use of a vehicles. Who needs a car key or an app to use a car, when facial recognition is all I need? How can I use a voice assistant in the car, without having to handle buttons or touch screens?

Instead of curiosity for new technologies the first reaction is about risks. One feels is frightened, when the iPhone recognizes one face, and you haven’t tried it before. You fear that your voice assistant is listening all the time, but those fears dampen the chances.

They are attending conferences on digital transformation, talking in an all–knowing way about it, but they are not living it. Dealing wit the topic mostly happens on a theoretical level, but rarely on a practical one. Because those first-hand experiences are missing, new ways of using it and understanding the technology’s shortcomings are limited.

The former German minister of transport Dobrindt was making a lively case against the transportation network provider Uber, when he visited Silicon Valley. When he was asked by the Silicon Valley-elite, if he had ever taken an Uber, he indignantly responded, “Of course not! I have a driver!”

Christmas is coming close and my challenge for you is to get the newest iPhone and the latest Google Home device. It could be the begin of a new understanding.

This article was also published in German.