I don’t consider myself technology-savvy yet I am a consistent user of all that keeps me informed and connected to the wider world. I can get information on any subject at any time in virtually any place like so many others around the world.

Recently, Google reported that it had over one billion discrete hits on its site. That means that one in seven people has used Google since it inception. Obviously, the use of technology has revolutionized all aspects of our daily lives: Watson, the IBM-built computer won on the game show Jeopardy; computers now can beat the best chess champions in the world; robotic arms and lasers are all digitally modulated to reach precise locations in our bodies.

How do we, as business leaders, absorb these changes and prepare for the next wave of personal technology?

The futurist Ray Kurzweil says that in the not-too distant future, technology will be part of the human body. Already we have cameras that patients swallow to see the inner working of the body and information chips let us know where our animals are and to whom they belong. Kurzweil writes that "Intelligence will become increasingly nonbiological and trillions of times more powerful than today."

Despite all of this technology, some basics -- the emotional awareness, the ability to understand, and all the aspects of our emotions that make great leaders today -- will not change. Those attributes will still make us great leaders in the future. No technology will take the place of human awareness. That is how leaders interact with individuals, influence decision making, motivate and reward others, and demonstrate successful outcomes.

It is the responsibility of technology leaders to understand that the human component of behavior and emotional intelligence are always going to the most important factors in success. Emotional Intelligence is the cutting edge that no computer will ever ‘get’ – it’s what sets true leaders apart from any others.