By Wendy Spivak

It seems almost inconceivable that with all of the technology available, our corporate phone system could have a service issue that shut down our phones for two days. And although we all have our smart phones, laptops and tablets, IT STILL MATTERED.

I won't dwell too much on the sheer aggravation of dealing with a service provider that could not identify--or fix--the issue in a timely manner. We've all been there in some way, shape or form, and know what it's like to wait on hold, be escalated, await return phone calls and expect a solution--all out of your control. Not to mention managing the perception of the outside world, and the myriad of steps that had to be taken to let people know that you are still there and how to reach you.

What is most interesting is that even though we all are so accustomed to using technology to communicate, the land-line phone is still important to our daily business.

Don't get me wrong--I love my smart phone and my iPad. But conducting a team-client call on speaker phone, conducting a media interview, connecting with an overseas contact and many of our other daily activities are best done with a land line.

From a cultural standpoint, it was just plain weird not to have phones ringing. Email is a silent activity, and our environment thrives on sound, motion, kinetic energy. Silence in this case, was not golden.