Meeting people face-to-face builds energy, strengthens relationships, and creates new opportunities.
I don’t know about you all, but I am sick and tired of Google Meet and Zoom meetings. Sure it’s convenient to not have to drive or fly anywhere, but they suck the life out of me. After a solid day of online meetings, I get this sick feeling in the pit of my stomach and feel like I lost the day. There is simply no replacement for face-to-face human interaction.
Let’s face it – there is a reason for the “back to the office” movement. Many people find that they can get more done, are more motivated, learn more from each other, establish better relationships with their coworkers, have more job opportunities, have more friendships, and are more creative when they get together face-to-face. Plus, most people (not all, however) are just happier when they go to the office. Work-life integration is real.
But this need for physical meeting goes beyond just the office itself. It also means that one should make more of an effort to go see clients, meet people for lunch and coffees, and get out to professional or trade association meetings. Everything is better when you do.
It’s no exaggeration when I say that I have as many as eight to 10 coffee meetings with people every week. Last week, in spite of going to Los Angeles for a board meeting I could have attended via Zoom if I wanted to, I had three coffees with students – one current student, one former student, and one grad student who isn’t my student but someone I’m trying to help. I met with a job candidate for a company I’m part of, a coworker in another part of The Walton College, taught two three-hour classes face-to-face with my students, and had two one-hour guest speakers in each of my classes, one with someone I only recently met.
In Los Angeles, I had two half-day physical board meetings, met for coffee with a new friend who works at a high level in a private equity firm, and had dinner with two old friends from the AEC business along with the CEO and founder of the largest independent film studio in the country. That’s all just in one week and does not include all of the virtual meetings I was involved with also. This week will be much the same although it starts with a nearly solid day of online meetings that I hope don’t leave me feeling depleted.
I’m 67 years old and as busy as I have ever been. I am energized and can get by on four or five hours of sleep day after day. But you know what? If I tried doing everything I just told you about remotely from my home office – even though it’s much more efficient with no travel – I don’t think I could motivate myself to do it. And I don’t think all of the good – much of it intangible and hard to describe – that came out of those face-to-face meetings would be realized, either. Relationships are established and solidified – life courses are even altered – because of these meetings.
I consider myself an “extroverted introvert.” I can be perfectly happy at home doing my own thing, interacting with no one. But I know it’s not healthy. It’s not the way for me to be all I can be. So I clean up, get dressed, and get out. And other than the insane amount of money spent on coffee and restaurant meals, I never regret it! Maybe you should have more face-to-face interactions, too?
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Mark Zweig is Zweig Group’s chairman and founder. Contact him at mzweig@zweiggroup.com. |